A Village Romeo and Juliet - Intermezzo: The Walk to the Paradise Garden – Frederick Delius

A Village Romeo and Juliet - Intermezzo: The Walk to the Paradise Garden by Frederick Delius

English composer Frederick Delius composed his opera ‘A Village Romeo and Juliet” in 1901, with the premiere performance taking place in February of 1907 in Berlin. The work would not have a British performance until 1910, being given at Covent Garden in London.
The opera is based on the short story of the same name by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller, first published in 1856. The short story is heavily inspired by the Shakespeare play ‘Romeo and Juliet, with the narrative focusing on the hopeless romance of two young lovers in Switzerland, separated by feuding families.

While the original play by Shakespeare portrays love as an unstoppable force, the short story by Keller portrays love as more innocent but naïve, and not realistic in the 19th century.

The opera has had only a few performances over the years. This is partly due to the size of the orchestra required for performance, and also due to the work focusing more on the instrumental components of the music rather than the singers. This places the work awkwardly between a concert work and a standard opera.

The orchestral interlude between scene 5 and 6, also known as the ‘Walk to the Paradise Garden” is played more regularly as a concert piece.