Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Socialist Realism: a Case-Study in Intersemiotic Translation

Abstract

This paper is concerned with Prokofiev’s ballet score, Romeo and Juliet, as an inter-semiotic translation of Shakespeare’s play. My aim is to consider Prokofiev’s distinct interpretation of the play in the light of the political climate of the Soviet Union in the 1930s and to attempt to determine the extent to which it conforms to the norms of Socialist Realism. This is by no means an easy matter, for the composer was at different times lauded by the authorities and vilified by them, while the work itself has been appropriated by both sides of the ideological divide. Nevertheless, close examination of the musical discourse reveals important alterations to Shakespeare’s original concept, shedding some light upon the composer’s own ideology and consequently upon his relationship to the regime under which he lived.