Liszt - Les adieux, rêverie sur un motif de l’opera Romeo et Juliette, S409 (Soyeon Kate Lee)

Les Adieux, described as a Rêverie on a motif from Gounod’s opéra Roméo et Juliette, was written in 1867, the year of the first staging of Gounod’s opera in April at the Paris Théâtre Lyrique. Liszt’s tribute uses several motifs from the opera, all concerned with the partings of the lovers: the end of the balcony scene, the morning after the marriage, and the scene at Juliet’s tomb, taking quite small phrases to create what almost amounts to an original composition. One of Liszt’s most endearing fantasies.