Roméo et Juliette is a seven-movement symphonie dramatique for orchestra and three choruses, with vocal solos, by French composer Hector Berlioz.

Initial inspiration came from a performance he witnessed in 1827 of Romeo and Juliet (in David Garrick's edited version) at the Odéon Theatre in Paris.

In his Memoirs, Berlioz describes the electrifying effect of the drama: ... to steep myself in the fiery sun and balmy nights of Italy, to witness the drama of that passion swift as thought, burning as lava, radiantly pure as an angel's glance, imperious, irresistible, the raging vendettas, the desperate kisses, the frantic strife of love and death, was more than I could bear.

I may add that at the time I did not know a word of English; I could only glimpse Shakespeare darkly through the mists of Letourneur's translation; the splendour of the poetry which gives a whole new glowing dimension to his glorious works was lost on me.

But the power of the acting, especially that of Juliet herself, the rapid flow of the scenes, the play of expression and voice and gesture, told me more and gave me a far richer awareness of the ideas and passions of the original than the words of my pale and garbled translation could do.

He reviewed a February 1831 performance in Florence of Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, outlining in passing how he would compose music for the Roméo et Juliette story: it would feature, he says, the sword fight, a concert of love, Mercutio's piquant buffooning, the terrible catastrophe, and the solemn oath of the two rival families.

[6] The eventual composition of Roméo et Juliette as we know it now was made possible by the generous gift of 20,000 francs by Niccolò Paganini; after hearing a performance of Harold en Italie at the Paris Conservatoire on 16 December 1838, the great virtuoso had publicly knelt before Berlioz and hailed him as the heir of Beethoven.

The bass-baritone, Adolphe-Louis Alizard (Friar Lawrence), and the Prologue chorus, all of whom came from the Paris Opéra, were prepared during the intermissions of performances there.

However, it was widely acknowledged that Berlioz had scored a major triumph in these first performances; a "tour de force such as only my system of sectional rehearsals could have achieved".

A premiere of a later revision (including cuts and changes to the Prologue, Queen Mab Scherzo, and the Finale) was held in Vienna on 2 January 1846, the first performance since 1839 and the first abroad.

[13] The score calls for: Structurally and musically, Roméo et Juliette is most indebted to Beethoven's 9th symphony – not just due to the use of soloists and choir, but in factors such as the weight of the vocal contribution being in the finale, and also in aspects of the orchestration such as the theme of the trombone recitative at the Introduction.

Second, since duets of this nature have been treated vocally a thousand times by the greatest masters, it was wise as well as unusual to attempt another means of expression.

[6] From Roméo et Juliette Wagner absorbed much about the ideals of dramatic music and the work can be considered a major influence on Tristan und Isolde.

[6] Moreover, in 1860, he sent Berlioz the published full score of Tristan und Isolde inscribed merely: Roméo et Juliette L'auteur reconnaissant de Romeo and Juliet from the grateful author of Beyond the influence on Wagner's music drama, the piece pushed the limits of the contemporary orchestra's capabilities, in terms of colour, programmatic scope and individual virtuosity.