Shakespeare400 – Romeo & Juliet- A (good)time for us

It is a little bit weird when you go to a classical concert when you went to a rock concert the day before. But believe me! It is a really good weird (of course the music has to be good!)

A few months ago, I and my friend went to a classical concert in London for the first time, and the more we felt excited while listening to “the Talk” (where the artists rehearse for the show after that), the more depressed we felt when the show was a totally different one, where my friend and I felt so sleepy because we did not understand or feel anything (we were new to this, sorry!)…

We left during the break (we were new, sorry, again!)

After I went home that night, I asked my friend to try it for the second time, but this time, “it has to be Romeo & Juliet!” I said. “Because we all know the movie!” (Yeah, right! you go to the concert because of the movie!) But it was just because I did not want to sit there and feel sleepy when I had no idea what the artists were playing about (that’s why I always feel asleep in class! duh?)

Last Friday night, we went to the Royal Festival Hall to listen to the Romeo & Juliet, a concert by London Philharmonic Orchestra, paying tribute to Shakespeare, 400 years after the year he died.

And it was amazing!

If you’ve seen the movie “Romeo & Juliet” (1968), then you could visualize the movie again, just by listening to the music tonight.

You could see in your mind which part of the concert was which part of the movie. Of course, it could not be 100% exact but believe me, you could do that. You could “see” Juliet running around in her garden innocently when you heard the fast and upbeat tempo of flute and piano. Then you could “feel” Romeo’s romantic heart when you heard the sweet, harmonious sound of the violin and the harp. You could “imagine” that Romeo was fighting with the Capulet when you heard the drums and the trumpets, so hard and so strong. Then, in the end, when you could feel like the violin, once again, was trying to squeeze your heart, you know Romeo & Juliet have died (why??????)

I actually felt like I was sitting next to the music composer, who was making the soundtracks for this movie back in the day it was made so long ago…

This concert was perfect. It showed me that I didn’t need to have high-education on music to hear and feel it, especially when it stuck to something I already knew. The concert was amazing, but I would sleep with a more satisfied mind that night if I could hear “A time for us” soundtrack again…

But I still like it! A lot!