On October 18, 2024, composer Joseph Summer’s concert series, The Shakespeare Concerts, presents an evening of music for voice and string quartet, featuring GBH Music’s Quartet in Residence, the Ulysses Quartet. The Shakespeare Concerts are centered on music inspired by William Shakespeare’s work in all its forms, interpreted by composers of today and of the past. Learn more about The Shakespeare Concerts here.
As a wise man once said, “La-di-da, di-da-di-dum, ‘tis autumn!” Massachusetts always looks (and feels) so magical this time of year. And maybe it’s the dramatic scenery outside my window, or the years of fall book reports and fall midterms, but this chilly weather never fails to put me in the mood for Shakespeare!
And I mean all kinds of Shakespeare. Fresh adaptations, classical productions, books, movies, anime… and of course, musical interpretations!
I think the first live performance of Shakespeare I ever saw was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. My older sibling was in a high school production of it, and I remember being absolutely captivated by the mischievous Puck and the handsome King Oberon. Felix Mendelssohn wrote the incidental music for a production of Midsummer in 1842, which includes the iconic “Wedding March:”
When I got to high school, my freshman year English class read the hilarious Much Ado About Nothing. Then we watched the 1993 film starring Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Star-studded, I tell you! Speaking of star-studded, here’s the Overture of Hector Berlioz’s opera Béatrice et Bénédict from a 1992 recording starring Susan Graham, Sylvia McNair, and Gabriel Bacquier. I think it perfectly captures the silliness of the play.
Romeo and Juliet was the first Shakespeare play I ever read, and I’ve never tired of it. Folks around the office have seen me wear my “Leo” shirt, with its moody shot of Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo from Baz Luhrman’s 1996 treasure. We play Henry Mancini's “A Time for Us” here on 99.5, as well as Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev's musical interpretations of this tragic love story. I prefer Prokofiev’s ballet to Tchaikovsky’s orchestral work, which I was lucky enough to see at the Pittsburgh Ballet a couple years ago. Here's the STUNNING balcony scene from The Royal Ballet's production of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet:
While we’re talking about the tragedies, Macbeth has a special place in my heart. Besides getting to over-act in a couple Macbeth scenes in my college acting class, I also got to see a late night showing of Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 film “Throne of Blood." It's an eerie, graphic retelling of Macbeth set in feudal Japan. Richard Strauss was also partial to this rich tale — he wrote his first tone poem about Macbeth.
And of course, who can forget about Hamlet? Benedict Cumberbatch’s take on the character in National Theater Live’s 2015 production is my absolute favorite, relying less on Hamlet’s anger or madness and more on his grief. I also love Ambroise Thomas’s opera of Hamlet, and this aria in particular. Hamlet sings “O vin, dissipe la tristesse” (“Oh wine, dispel the sadness”) just before the hired troupe of actors perform “The Murder of Gonzaga” for his mother, Queen Gertrude, and the suspicious Claudius. Here's the wonderful tenor Michael Spyres with his performance of it:
I’ll add an honorable mention here to plug Ralph Vaughan Williams’s gorgeous Serenade to Music, with lyrics adapted from Act V, Scene I of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Vaughan Williams’s setting of its text is poetic and lush.
Did you know that Al Pacino has performed the role of Shylock three times?
Enjoy some Shakespeare-inspired classical music in this playlist:
