Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev is perhaps best remembered for his ballet Romeo and Juliet, although his proficiency in composition led him to work in many different genres.
He is identified amongst the major composers of the 20th century, using the characteristic dissonance and atonality that developed during the early 1900s in an emotional and musical response to the devastation left behind after the world wars. As a direct response to the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941, Prokofiev began composing an opera based on Tolstoy's War and Peace.
Of his works for stage, only one of his operas was ever performed during his lifetime; The Love for Three Oranges. Today, this opera remains one of the most often performed of Prokofiev's works, along with his psychological thriller The Fiery Angel.
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