Performing Arts: Music

Hector Berlioz and Roméo et Juliette

Hector Berlioz was born in La Cote-Saint-Andre in southeastern France in 1803. As a child, Berlioz demonstrated his musical talent by playing both the guitar and the flute. When Berlioz was 22, he decided to attend a conservatory to pursue his studies in music rather than fulfilling his family's wishes for him to remain in medical school. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique under the French composer Jean François Le Sueur and the Czech composer Anton Reicha.

By 1839, virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini gave Berlioz 20,000 francs to compose Roméo et Juliette. Since Berlioz was both interested in and influenced by Shakespeare's works, he accepted, and produced one of the most charming dramatic symphonies in history. The result, Roméo et Juliette, is rumored to have been dedicated to the Irish actress, Harriet Smithson, who was playing Ophelia in Hamlet in Paris at the time.

Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette is an example of early French Romanticism. The thematic material in romantic compositions typically conveys intense emotion and individual expression. In Roméo et Juliette, Berlioz altered the typical classical symphony format by combining a full orchestra with a chorus and narrative soloists, and incorporating romantic overtones. In his composition, he depicted some scenes of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, including the Capulets' ball, the balcony scene, Mercutio's speech about Queen Mab, and the funeral of Juliet.

Berlioz passed away in 1869, two years after his son died of yellow fever. During his career, Berlioz also composed many other magnificent works, such as Symphonie Fantastique, Harold en Italie, L'enfance du Christ, Grande Messe des Morts, Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, Les Nuits d'été, and La damnation de Faust.

As stated in the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, Berlioz's compositions include
"expansive melodies of irregular phrase length, sometimes with a slight chromatic inflection, and expressive though not tonally adventurous harmonies." His style is original. He contrasts instrumental voices and proposed irregular rhythms in a musical world that, until then, only knew the form and structure of the Classical age.

Additional Resources:

Berlioz Writes About His Works
http://hector.ucdavis.edu/Berlioz2003/
Texts/79R&JObs.htm

This page includes two articles, Avant-propos and Observations, written by Hector Berlioz, concerning his own works, translated by D. Kern and Elizabeth R. Holoman.

The Hector Berlioz Website
http://www.hberlioz.com/

Created, funded, and authored by two British academics, this personal Web site is devoted to the life and works of 19th century French composer, Hector Berlioz. It features updated news on Berlioz musical performances worldwide, event listings celebrating the composer's bicentenary, a bibliography, and a discography.