Hamlet

Shakespeare's play (1600–1) has inspired operas and orch. mus. e.g.

(1) Opera in 5 acts by Ambroise Thomas to lib. by Barbier and Carré, prod. Paris 1868, London 1869, NY 1872.
(2) Opera (Amleto) by Faccio to lib. by Boito, prod. Genoa 1865.
(3) Sym.‐poem by Liszt, comp. 1858 as prelude to play.
(4) Fantasy‐ov. Op.67a by Tchaikovsky, 1888, and incid. mus. (16 items) Op.67b, 1891.
(5) Opera in 3 acts by Searle to his own lib., prod. Hamburg 1968, London 1969.
(6) Ballets on the subject have used mus. by Tchaikovsky, Clerico, Gallenberg, Blacher, and Shostakovich.
(7) Other operas on the subject by Gasparini, D. Scarlatti, Mercadante, Grandi, and Szokolay among others.
(8) Film music by Shostakovich and Walton.

Hamlet (Thomas). Libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier; 5 acts; first performance Paris 1868, conducted by Georges Hainl.

Denmark: Soon after the death of her husband, the King of Denmark, Gertrude marries his brother, Claudius. Her son, Hamlet, loves Ophélie (Ophelia), sister of Laërte (Laertes) and daughter of Polonius. His father's ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and asks Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet instructs a band of strolling players to enact a play about the murder of a king. The performance upsets Claudius and Hamlet accuses him of a similar crime and snatches the crown from him. Occupied by the worry about his father's murder, Hamlet refuses to marry Ophélie who, driven mad by his rejection, drowns herself in a lake. Laërte blames Hamlet for his sister's death and they are about to fight when Ophélie's body is carried in. Hamlet is determined to kill himself.