Romeo und Julie
Romeo und Julie is a singspiel in three acts by composer Georg Benda. The opera has a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter that is based upon Christian Felix Weiße's translation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo und Julie
Gotter's libretto eliminates many of Shakespeare's characters and most of the original play's comedic elements. It does, however, adhere to unities of time and place. Gotter's text also makes Julie the strongest and most important character in the opera, which is further reflected in Benda's score. Gotter also gave his version of Romeo and Juliet a happy ending, in accordance with operatic tradition at that time.[1]
Performance history[edit]
The opera was first performed on 25 September 1776 at the Ekhof Theatre in the Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha.[2] The UK première was given in 2007 by Bampton Classical Opera, in English.