Montagues and Capulets

"Montagues and Capulets" is a piano transcription of the original ballet piece called "Dance of the Knights". It is a score reduced by Sergei Prokofiev himself to be included into Ten Pieces for Piano, Op. 75.^[1] The original piece (Op. 64, No. 13) is from Act I, Scene 2 of the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

A dark and atmospheric piece, it has become a de facto signature tune for the Soviet era, and is used as the soundtrack for numerous dramas, documentaries and advertisements that have Soviet subject matter. It was used as the background music in a popular 1990s French commercial for Chanel's Egoiste fragrance. Porto come out to the piece at home European matches.^{[citation needed]} English Premier League club Sunderland have used this piece in pre-match build up since they moved to the Stadium of Light in 1997, other English clubs have followed suit since. The piece has also been used as concert introductory music: Iron Maiden used a rendition of the score during their 1998 Virtual XI World Tour, and in 2009 by the rock band Deep Purple. The song "Got One Life" by the drum and bass band, Qemists (feat. Navigator), mixes "Montagues and Capulets" into the background. A version of this song is played through a dog-shaped speaker in a series of 2009 Softbank advertisements featuring Quentin Tarantino. This piece was also used in the UK as the title theme on Channel 4's National Football League American Football show in the 1980s. An interpretation of this piece is used in the video game Sid Meier's Civilization V as Catherine the Great's theme. Industrial band VNV Nation covered the piece in the intro of their live concert DVD "Pastperfect" (2004). This piece is the opening song for the art exhibition Van Gogh Alive.

It is known as the theme song to the British and Irish versions of the Mark Burnett Productions franchise The Apprentice.

It is also used in the game Supreme Ruler Cold War when playing as the Soviet Union.

It is also featured on The Simpsons episode "The Falcon and the D'Ohman" (23rd season première)

Notes

1. ^ Biography page on prokofiev.org

External links

• Listen to the Dance of the Knights