Romeo and Juliet, overture, B35

Opus number

N/A

Burghauser catalogue number

35

Date of composition

June – July 1873

Dvořák wrote the orchestral overture Romeo and Juliet in June and July of 1873. Information about its progress was given on 20 June 1873 in Dalibor magazine, which stated that “the composer is currently engaged in a major orchestral work, an overture to Shakespeare’s drama Romeo and Juliet, having taken the scene in the crypt as his particular poetic inspiration.” According to Dvořák’s biographer Boleslav Kalenský, the overture was written in B minor. The composer later destroyed the piece, together with other works. The only other work by Dvořák based on a Shakespearean theme – which has survived to this day – is the concert overture Othello.