Roman Carnival Overture
No doubt about it: opening night of Hector Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini was a spectacular disaster. Berlioz sarcastically wrote that the audience "hissed with admirable energy and unanimity." Part of the problem was the conductor, who ignored Berlioz's directions. The composer reworked the overture, renamed it and led the re-premiere himself. This time, Berlioz sent a note to the first conductor: "THAT is how the music goes." We'll hear the Roman Carnival Overture the way Berlioz intended it, on Monday's Performance Today.