ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

French composer Jules Massenet is best known for his operas, having written more than thirty operas in his lifetime. However, he also composed a range of other music including oratorios, ballets, incidental music and orchestral works.

Massenet’s Suite No. 3 ‘Scènes Dramatiques’ was composed in 1874. In each of the three sections of this suite, the composer draws inspiration from a different Shakespeare play. The stormy first evokes imagery from The Tempest; the second section reflects the romantic and furious story of Othello, and the third section is split into short subsections telling the story of the witches, banquets, and fanfares of Macbeth.

This performance by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ NOW took place in 2007 under the baton of former ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ NOW Principal Conductor, Thierry Fischer.