Avoiding disaster with the Roman Carvinal Overture

Berlioz salvaged the music that would become the Roman Carnival Overture from his failed 1838 opera, Benvenuto Cellini. The opera’s premiere had been a disaster: the orchestra struggled with the music, the singers abhorred their parts, and the conductor, François-Antoine Habeneck, ignored all of Berlioz’s instructions. The resulting debacle forced the Paris Opera’s management to cancel the rest of the opera’s performances.

By 1843, Berlioz turned what he could of Benvenuto Cellini into the Roman Carnival Overture. By the premiere, however, the piece was facing perils similar to its parent piece’s fate. With only one rehearsal prior to the first performance and the winds called to National Guard duties the morning of the first performance, things looked grim for the Roman Carnival.

Berlioz, however, showed unwavering faith in his work and the orchestra. He conducted the piece that evening flawlessly, and it was reportedly impossible to guess that there had been no rehearsal. The Overture even enjoyed an encore performance due to audience demands.

Leaving the stage, Berlioz passed Habeneck, who had attended the performance in the hopes of basking in another Berlioz disaster. Reminding Habeneck of the carnival scene in the opera, Berlioz explained, “That’s how it goes.”

Hear the piece that just avoided disaster this weekend at the Utah Symphony. Learn more on utahsymphony.org.