Montagues and Capulets

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Montagues and Capulets also known as Dance of the Knights is a score composed by Sergei Prokofiev. It is from Act I, Scene 2 of the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

A dark and atmospheric piece, it has become a de facto signature tune for the Soviet era, and is used as the soundtrack for numerous dramas, documentaries and adverts that have Soviet subject matter.

It was the theme tune for the second series of the UK television game show The Apprentice, was used as the background music in a popular 1990s French commercial for Chanel's Egoiste fragrance, and was the competition music for the Canadian television mockumentary Kenny vs. Spenny.

The song has also been used as the theme score for the English football club Sunderland who play at the Stadium of Light in order to evoke a stirring mood before kick-off and to trouble the nerves of visiting opponents. Since the stadium opened in 1997, Dance of the Knights is played, in full, before the teams run out onto the pitch before the game, and again before the second half. It is said to trigger memories of soldiers marching.

The use of the piece in this context saw interest in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet rise sharply in the North-East of England toward the end of the 1990's.

Furthermore, this composition is used as title music for the movie Caligula.

The German Technical Death Metal band Necrophagist uses a portion of this piece at the end of their song Only Ash Remains.