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Shortly after Shakespeare's death the Puritans (religious fundamentalists) succeeded in closing all theatres (they had been trying to do this for many years).
The theatres stayed closed for around twenty years (1641 until the early 1660's) and when they opened again, taste had changed.
People who went to the theatres after they reopened were too grown up to enjoy a play about fairies, as we can see from Samuel Pepy's diary entry for September 29th 1662:
we saw Midsummer Nights Dream which I had never seen before, nor shall ever again, for it is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life
But theatre managers knew that his was a crowd-pleaser, so something needed to be done to make such a ridiculous play acceptable once more to grown ups.
The main thing that was done was to turn the play into a kind of pantomime. If there was music and dancing and lots of special effects, people didn't seem to mind that the play was about fairies. A Midsummer Nights Dream was rewritten as a cross between a play an opera and a Ballet by Henry Purcell in 1692, and even given a new title The Faerie Queene.
For the next two hundred years A Midsummer Nights Dream was always played with music and dances and special effects. Henry Purcell's version was popular for a long time, but in 1826 Felix Mendelssohn wrote a Concert Overture for the play, then in 1842 expanded this to include Incidental Music (turning the entire play back into a musical extravaganza).
From 1842 until the beginning of the twentieth century the play was almost always performed as an accompaniment to Mendelssohn's music, and indeed a film was made of the play as a ballet as late as 1966.
Fortunately we are able to watch the play without music these days; and even listen to the music without the play if we want to.
Felix Mendelssohn's music is excellent; Henry Purcell's is awesome.
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∙ 14y ago
The music for A Midsummer Night's Dream was composed by Felix Mendelssohn. He composed an overture and incidental music for the play in 1842.
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∙ 12y agoit's a party and want to have with freinds
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What is the music in levi's midsummer night's dream advert?
Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream
What musical composer composed a famous version of A Midsummer Night's Dream?
The most famous musical composition associated with A Midsummer Night's Dream was composed by Felix Mendelssohn. It is not, however, a "version" of the play, but rather incidental music meant to accompany a performance. Think of it as the "soundtrack" to the play (it was so used in the 1935 film of the play, and partially again in the 1999 film). There are a number of pieces in the suite, but the one absolutely everyone knows is the Wedding March, which is played at many weddings.
Who composed the traditional wedding march?
Richard Wagner, the music is from "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The usual recessional used at weddings is from "Lohengrin" and was written by Felix Mendelssohn. It's the other way round. Wagner wrote the music known as 'Here comes the bride' and Mendelssohn's Wedding March is from his incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Which instrument classification is represented in Midsummer Night's Dream?
The instrument classification represented in "Midsummer Night's Dream" is the orchestral classification, with instruments such as strings (violin, cello), woodwinds (flute, clarinet), brass (trumpet, trombone), and percussion (timpani, cymbals) typically used in performances of the music composed for the play.
Were there lyrics to Mendelssohn's Wedding March?
No. Mendelssohn did not write lyrics to be sung with the music. However the Wedding March comes from his Midsummer Nights Dream music where some of the musical numbers have a choir in them, but the Wedding March is purely orchestral without choir.
Does A Midsummer Night's Dream have a overture?
Not the way Shakespeare wrote it, but Felix Mendelssohn wrote some absolutely terrific incidental music to accompany the play, including an overture and a wedding march which I guarantee you have heard before. Mendelssohn's music features prominently in both the 1935 and 1999 movies and the overture can be heard at the related link.
Who composed the Song Wedding March?
depends which one you are refering to, the most famous is the 'wedding march' written by Felix Mendelssohn, from the suite of incidential music for Shakespears play A Midsummer Nights Dream in 1842
What was the music that the orchestra played at the beginning of red dragon?
Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream Felix Mendelssohn
Where in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream is the famous Wedding March played?
The famous Wedding March is not actually played in A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is commonly associated with weddings due to its use in Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for the play.
What popular piece of music you still use today originated from midsummer night dream?
The composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote incidental music to accompany the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The wedding march (written for the scene when the three couples are married) is instantly recognizable as it is played at many weddings as the processional. Mendelssohn wrote the piece in 1843.
Who composed the music for the hit show NCIS?
The music is composed by Numeriklab.
Is the song summer nights in the sound of music?
The song "Summer Nights" is in the musical Grease, not the Sound of Music.
