[Op. 17]. Roméo et Juliette Symphonie Dramatique avec Choeurs, Solos de chant et Prologue en récitatif choral composée d'après la Tragedie de Shakespeare ... Paroles d'Emile Deschamps. Partition de Piano et Chant Transcrite par Th. Ritter. Prix net 12f. [Piano-vocal score]

Paris: Brandus et Cie. [PN 818], 1890. Large octavo. Dark red morocco-backed marbled boards, raised bands on spine in decorative compartments gilt, titling gilt, marbled endpapers. 1f. (recto title, verso blank), 1f. (recto contents, verso blank), [1]-[2] (preface and foreword), 3-118 pp. Text in French and German.

Binding slightly worn, rubbed, and bumped. Slightly browned. Re-issue.

"Shakespeare's plays were to supply the basis of three [of Berlioz's] major works, Roméo et Juliette, Béatrice et Bénédict and the Roi Lear overture. In addition, there were at least three pieces inspired by Hamlet, a fantasy on The Tempest, and some direct borrowings in Les Troyens. More profoundly Shakespeare provided a framework for the structure of both Roméo et Juliette and Les Troyens and was a source, in the form of dramatic truth, of Berlioz's fundamental notion of expressive truth. Berlioz was to read and quote Shakespeare avidly for the rest of his life, putting him alongside Virgil in his literary pantheon." Grove online.