Run Time: Approx. 25 Minutes

The Tempest, written in 1873, was Tchaikovsky’s second work inspired by a Shakespeare play, following his earlier Romeo and Juliet. The story centers on Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, who has been exiled to a remote island with his daughter, Miranda. Using his magical powers, Prospero conjures a storm that shipwrecks his usurping brother, Antonio, and his crew. Among the stranded sailors is Antonio’s son, Ferdinand, who meets and falls in love with Miranda. Fortunately, the young couple fares much better than Romeo and Juliet, and the play ends with all parties making amends. Prospero is restored to his rightful seat, and Ferdinand and Miranda are engaged.

Tchaikovsky follows the general arc of Shakespeare’s story, but he focuses most attention on the storm itself and the central love story. The work opens with the image of a calm sea, as strings create a foggy atmosphere over which horns play a plaintive melody. The open intervals suggest the vastness of the ocean, while the ominous harmonies hint at the calm before the storm. Led by blustery figures in the strings and woodwinds, the tempest begins. The timpani rolls thunderously over a frantic string section, while the brass section plays dark, terror-evoking chorales.

When the storm finally settles and the orchestra lulls, Tchaikovsky wastes no time in introducing Ferdinand and Miranda’s love theme. Innocent and tender, the melody is exchanged between the woodwinds and strings, tentatively at first, but eventually building into a passionate declaration. Tension returns, however, as the feuding families clash, led by an agitated woodwind section. But Tchaikovsky returns to the lovers’ theme with even greater insistence and passion.

Eventually, the music settles back into the seaside imagery from the opening, as the families reconcile, and Prospero prepares to leave the island. The work concludes just as it began, with a serene and stark image of the open ocean.