ROMEO AND JULIE – Ekhof Festival – Baroque Impulse

“Love and hope! […] Romeo, I hold you. You hold me. Now we are happy! Let us die this way!” – Georg Anton Benda, who became Kapellmeister of the Gotha court orchestra in 1750, was particularly known for his melodramas, which were strongly influenced by Rousseau's Enlightenment spirit. Among these is “Romeo and Juliet,” the very first musical adaptation of Shakespeare's drama. The melodramatic singspiel premiered on September 25, 1776, in Gotha, i...