Romeo and Juliet, overture, B35

Dvorak 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 Dvorak’s biographer Boleslav Kalensky, the overture was written in B minor. The composer later destroyed the piece, together with other works. The only other work by Dvorak based on a Shakespearean theme – which has survived to this day – is the concert overture Othello, Op. 93.