LibGuides: Shakespeare Across Subject Areas: Art & Music

Sample Articles - Shakespeare & Music

Articles from Library Databases

"Tracking the Sounds of Franco Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew"
The author examines the role of sound and music in Franco Zeffirelli's film version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.
"Choral Settings of Shakespearean Texts"
Suggested songs based on Shakespeare's texts that are recommended for choir performances. Includes brief overviews of the songs' contents as well as difficulty levels.
"Glimmerglass 2008: A Smashing Shakespearean Season"
This article reviews performances of the Glimmerglass Opera Company which chose to do a Shakespeare-themed season. Performances included Cole Porter's Taming of the Shrew adaptation, Handel's Julius Caesar, Bellini's Capulets and Montagues, Wagner's Das Liebesverbot (based on Measure for Measure), and Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream
"The Bard's Beat Goes On"
Descriptions of modern adaptations of Shakespeare's works with musical elements. Adaptations described include a hip-hop version of Othello and Romeo & Juliet with Jeff Buckley music.

Articles from Other Sources

"What Makes Shakespeare Musicals ‘American’"
March 28, 2017 web article from the Shakespeare & Beyond blog published by the Folger Shakespeare Library
"The Game's the Thing" article by Erin Sullivan
This article from the Folger Library's Shakespeare & Beyond blog describes the use of Shakespearean images as decorative elements in games throughout history, including more modern times.

Videos of Music Performances

Tchaikovsky Romeo & Juliet Overture, London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev Proms 2007 1/2
YouTube video uploaded on Aug 29, 2010 of Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet Overture, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra & conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet, performed by the Bolshoi Ballet
YouTube video uploaded Jan. 24, 2012 or Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet danced by the Bolshoi Ballet Company, featuring principal dancers Juliet Natalya Bessmertnova & Mikhail Lavrovsky.
Taylor Swift's "Love Story" Music Video
YouTube video uploaded on Jun 16, 2009. Music video by Taylor Swift performing "Love Story." (C) 2008 Big Machine Records, LLC.
"Love at First Sight" from West Side Story
From Leonard Bernstein's 1961 West Side Story. Video uploaded in 2013 at Movieclips by Fandango on YouTube.

Illustrated Shakespeare

William Blake's illustration of Othello & Desdemona, currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Tips for Searching for Illustrations of Shakespeare's Works

Use HACC's ARTSTOR database
Creating an account in ARTSTOR allows you to download images and use additional tools within the database
Search using keywords: Shakespeare illustrations

Shakespeare's Characters as Inspiration for Visual Artworks

"John Everett Millais: Ophelia -- Masterworks (Tate Gallery, London)," available through HACC's subscription to Films on Demand, offers a close-up view of Millais' best-known work named for Shakespeare's tragic character from Hamlet. The film highlights elements of Shakespeare's text that are represented visually, nearly word-for-word, in the painting.