Tchaikovsky’s enchanting, magical Tempest

The 70th season of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra debuts this October with a sweeping symphonic poem by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The Tempest; Fantasy Overture, Op. 18, draws loosely from William Shakespeare’s play by the same name.

The orchestral piece, which was written in 1873, contains themes from the fanciful play, which is thought to be the last Shakespeare wrote alone. A brief synopsis: Set on a remote island, Prospero, the overthrown duke of Milan and a sorcerer, plots to restore his daughter, Miranda, to her rightful place. To do so, he fashions a storm to lure his power-hungry brother Antonio and King Alonso of Naples to the island. The duke’s skillful manipulations subsequently reveal Antonio’s base character, the king’s redemption, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso’s son, Ferdinand.

Tchaikovsky’s musical interpretation of the story depicts both the stillness and fury of the sea; portrayals of Ariel, Prospero and Caliban, a villainous island native who works as Prospero's slave but despises him; and the love between Ferdinand and Miranda. The love music is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, a more well-known work by Tchaikovsky based on a Shakespeare play. For Maestro Eckerling's thought's on these two Shakespearean fantasies, please read the article in the current KeyNotes.