The Tortured History Behind Prokofievs Romeo and Juliet

'In 1935, Sergei Prokofiev made a devil’s bargain: He moved to the Soviet Union, chasing a lucrative offer to write any opera or ballet he wanted and an opportunity to take command of the country’s music scene.

He chose to compose a “Romeo and Juliet” ballet, which led to one of the most beloved dance works in the repertory and a series of famous orchestral suites. The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Stéphane Denève, will perform selections this Thursday through Saturday. New York City Ballet dances Peter Martins’s staging from Feb. 13 to 23.

But the celebrated legacy of “Romeo and Juliet” belies its tortured history: It left Prokofiev broken and emerged from a period that left many of his colleagues dead.

When Prokofiev accepted the commission from the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theater, he had lived outside Russia since 1918 and saw the offer as a kind of homecoming. It could also be his moment to dethrone Shostakovich following the disastrous premiere of his opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” which was mocked by Stalin and denounced in the Communist newspaper Pravda.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/arts/music/prokofiev-romeo-and-juliet-new-york-philharmonic-new-york-city-ballet.html?