BSO lifts 'Romeo et Juliette'with passionate playing
James Levine spoke at Harvard University Wednesday, and one of his subjects was programming. He argued that the way we hear and understand a piece of music is affected by the context within which we hear it. He was speaking specifically about relationships among pieces on a single orchestral program, but such relationships also build among the programs of a season.
It was revelatory to hear Berlioz's dramatic symphony ''Romeo et Juliette" just two weeks after Elliott Carter's ''Symphonia," and not just because Carter said he wanted the third movement of his piece to be a contemporary response to Berlioz's ''Queen Mab" Scherzo. One was struck Thursday night at how Carteresque Berlioz's work is; how Berlioz isolates sections of the orchestra the way Carter does; and how conflicting ideas and gestures are simultaneously present in the work of both composers. The music is of great subtlety but also of piercing directness.
''Romeo et Juliette" is built on conflict, between Montagues and Capulets, but also between the lovers and the hostile world around them. The second movement, ''Romeo Alone," opens with something very close to a 12-tone row, and the work is full of astounding orchestral effects (some violins trilling, others sustaining the same pitch; a solemn quartet of bassoons; hunting horns). For all of its affinities with music written before and after it, ''Romeo" is unique -- a fusion of oratorio and symphonic poem or opera-for-orchestra. The love scene between Romeo and Juliet and their love/death are enacted by the orchestra.
The piece is permanently associated with the BSO because of former music director Charles Munch and the three recordings the orchestra has made over the years. It's been a decade since the last performance, but it came back in glory.
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, both in its chamber configuration and full force, had a great night, and there were three impressive soloists. Tenor Matthew Polenzani was quick-witted and nimble-tongued in his brief moment, and bass Julien Robbins brought both authority and warmth to Friar Lawrence, although he was sometimes stretched to the limits of his resources. Mezzo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, that magnificent musician, was spellbinding in the opening narrative strophes atmospherically accompanied by harp (Ann Hobson Pilot) and cello (Jules Eskin). She sings with glowing-ruby tone and total emotional openness. Romeo himself could not have uttered the word ''Juliette" with more passion and mystery.
But the star of the performance was the BSO, playing at the top of its current game and competitive with any previous lineup. The trombones and horns were outstanding, and so were the clarinet of William R. Hudgins and the oboe of John Ferrillo. The ''Queen Mab" Scherzo took wing, hovering iridescently in the air; the finale of reconciliation unfurled with majestic solemnity. Levine, of course, had everything to do with it. The ovations were prolonged, and at one return to the stage, Levine appeared pulling Lieberson along with him by the arm, followed by the others.
There is usually an unseemly rush for the doors at the end of a concert, but not this time; it was hard to let this experience go. 
