HECTOR BERLIOZ

- Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17

CATHERINE ROBBIN, mezzo-soprano
JEAN-PAUL FOUCHÉCOURT, tenor
GILLES CACHEMAILLE, bass-baritone
MONTEVERDI CHOIR
ORCHESTRE RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE ET ROMANTIQUE
conducted by JOHN ELIOT GARDINER

CD 454 454-2 (2-CD set) DDD
PHILIPS

- Three reasons why this new Berlioz recording is a "must".
1. This album includes music previously unrecorded music by Berlioz.
2. Select your own preference by programming:
- (a) The standard performing version (circa 1846)
- (b) The original version of the score (circa 1839)
- (c) John Eliot Gardiner's preferred movement order.
3. Recorded for the first time on period instruments.

- Gardiner on Roméo et Juliette:
"The fascinating thing about a piece like 'Romeo and Juliet,' which is written on such a colossal scale - it's presented as a dramatic symphony, but it's theatrical in every respect, and seems to aspire almost to the condition of opera from time to time, especially in its final scene. It's also incredibly private, incredibly intimate."

- John Eliot Gardiner is one of the most exciting and versatile conductors of our time. He has won every possible award as a conductor. Acknowledged as a key figure in the early music revival, he has consistently gone against the prevailing orthodoxy through his particular combination of scholarship and inspired musicianship. Founder and Artistic Director of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, he also appears regularly as a guest conductor with all the top orchestras of the world.