This programme shows three pairs of Shakespeare’s lovers ageing in reverse: the mature strife of Antony & Cleopatra is followed by the bickering Beatrice & Benedick, resolving in the searing purity of Romeo & Juliet.

Commissioned by the LA Philharmonic for Shakespeare’s Globe at the Hollywood Bowl and first conducted by Bramwell Tovey, this fully staged presentation cycles five actors through three plays in highly syncopated sequences with the orchestra so the music flows precisely with Shakespeare’s poetry.

SCHMITT – Antoine et Cléopatre, selections from Suites I & 2

KORNGOLD – Much Ado About Nothing incidental music

BERLIOZ – Queen Mab Scherzo, Romeo & Juliet

NINO ROTA – the balcony scene from the 1968 Zeffirelli film, Romeo & Juliet