BerliozMusic

The 1827 performance at the Odeon perhaps had the most extreme effect on Hector Berlioz--then a young, budding musician. Berlioz explains extensively how momentous the event was in his memoirs. He writes: "Shakespeare, coming upon me unawares, struck me like a thunderbolt. The lightning flash of that discovery revealed to me at a stroke the whole heaven of art, illuminating it to the its remotest corners. I recognized the meaning of grandeur, beauty, dramatic truth...I saw, I understood, I felt...that I was alive and that I must arise and walk" (in Cairns, ed., 95).

The Smithson Obsession

Most fans of Hector Berlioz are probably well aware of his legendary obsession with a Shakespearean actress, which was the inspiration for his famous Symphonie Fantastique. By all accounts, Harriet (aka Henrietta, or Henriette) Smithson was a friendly, attractive, and available young woman, making her a likely candidate for the admiration of Belioz, or any young man. But it was her portrayal of Ophelia in the 1827 performance of Hamlet that won the heart of Berlioz, and, along with her successive performances as other Shakespearean tragic heroines, made her famous among the French- regardless of language barriers that compromised understanding of the plays.Berlioz wrote obsessively about Harriet in his memoirs; his strength of passion was not fleeting, nor was it discreet. He tried repeatedly to approach 'Miss Smithson' by letter and hand-delivered message, but was not allowed to see her. Apparently, she was frightened of him, due to rumors of mental instability and epilepsy, and Berlioz's incriminatingly erratic behavior: on one occasion, when Berlioz saw Smithson on-stage in the role of Juliet, in the arms of another man, he ran out of the theater, screaming. He mentions this incident in his own memoirs: "I came in just as the poor distracted Romeo carries Juliet off in his arms. As my eyes fell on the Shakespearean group I gave a loud cry and rushed out of the theatre, wildly wringing my hands." (Newman 98).

Smithson as OpheliaBerlioz was immediately smitten with the image of Smithson on-stage. It appears that, because she performed roles associated with powerful cultural archetypes- such as the elusive, beautiful, and doomed Ophelia- Smithson's appeal was a mixture of both what she projected, and what was projected onto her by the collective minds of her audiences. For years to come, Berlioz would refer to her as "Ophelia" or "Juliet" rather than her real name, both in his memoirs, and in conversations with friends.

Ferrard de Pontmartin, another audience member, recalled the powerful presence of Berlioz during a performance of Romeo and Juliet, and his obvious captivation with Smithson:

On our right, in the same row of the pit, I saw a young man whose appearance, once seen for three minutes, was unforgettable. His thick shock of light auburn hair was tossed back and hung over the collar of his appropriately threadbare coat. His magnificent Marmorean, almost luminous, forehead, a nose one might have supposed carved by Phidias' chisel, his fine and slender curved lips, his slightly, but not too, convex chin, his whole delicacy of mien which seemed to spell the ascetic or the poet, created an ensemble which would have been a sculptor's delight or despair. His was the ideal profile for a medallion or a cameo. But all these details vanished at the sight of those wide eyes, a pale but intense grey, fixed upon Juliet with that expression of ecstasy which the Pre-Renaissance painters gave to their saints and angels. Body and soul alike were wholly absorbed in this gaze. (Raby 78)

Upon seeing Smithson as Ophelia and other Shakespearean roles, Berlioz's need to possess the tragic, whether an innate personality trait or an unleashed desire to imitate Shakespeare, became his self proclaimed fate. Consumed by his unrequited love, Belioz wrote a letter to his friend Ferdinand Hiller, with these excerpts (spacing and punctuation recreated from the original):

". . . today it is a year since I saw HER for the last time_________oh! unhappy woman! how I loved you....trembling I write, HOW I LOVE YOU! If there is another world shall we find each other again?. . . Shall I ever see Shakespeare? Will she know me?. . .Will she understand the poetry of my love?. . .oh! Juliet, Ophelia, Belvidera, Jane Shore, names that hell repeats unceasingly. . ."
"Oh! sublime ones! sublime ones! annihilate me! summon me to your golden clouds! deliver me!...."
"Go, go Henriette Smithson and Hector Berlioz will be reunited in the oblivion of the tomb, which will not prevent other unhappy ones from SUFFERING AND DYING" (Newman 103).

In his memoirs, he also wrote ". . . I would see her, whether as Ophelia or as Juliet, even if it killed me; I would give myself up to the destiny which seemed to pursue me, and not struggle any more." (Raby 126). Berlioz's obsession with Harriet seems to follow what Barzun calls "the very respectable French tradition of the 'amour de tete', which is a form of idealism or true Platonic striving after an imagined perfection" (Barzun,101), and German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann has said that at the core of romanticism was "infinite longing."

Inspired by Shakespeare

Berlioz's newfound inspiration wasn't all due to Smithson's stage presence or the dramatic truth he saw in Hamlet, however. He writes in his memoirs:

As I came out of Hamlet, shaken to the depths by the experience, I vowed not to expose myself a second time to the flame of Shakespeare's genius.
Next day the playbills announced Romeo and Juliet. I had my pass to the pit. But to make doubly sure of getting in, just in case the doorkeeper at the Odeon might have had orders to suspend the free list, I rushed round to the box office the moment I saw the posters and bought a stall. My fate was doubly sealed. (97)

A page from Berlioz's memoirsObviously Berlioz was affected by Shakespeare's style and construction, and the musical structures he developed afterwards show similarities to the plays that he saw in Paris. His version of Romeo and Juliet, for instance, fuses together lyrical and dramatic elements, an innovation that was also employed by Shakespeare (Barzun, 329). Berlioz also adopted the idea of having a prologue from Shakespeare, in the form of a chorus (Barzun 321).

There are more subtle nuances of Berlioz's compositions that may have also been inspired in part by the philosophy behind Shakespeare's structure. For example, Berlioz is noted for recognizing the difference between instrumentation and orchestration, and for using timbre or tone color as "a value in the structure", taking account not only of the contrast but "the relation of each voice to its potential strength" (Barzun, 467). Perhaps this technique owes something to Shakespeare's use of scene placement and dramatic intensity in his plays. At any rate, although many find Berlioz's orchestral style confusing (a criticism shared with Delacroix), his construction was intentional, and similar in effect to other Romantics. "Berlioz' sounds are not designed to sweep us off our feet and impose their tale of love and death, but rather to start and guide an imaginative act- what for want of better words we have called a 'gesture of the spirit' - which remains as invisible and intangible as the music" (Barzun, 393).

Tragic Love

Just as Berlioz began to win acclaim for his music, Smithson's career waned, and she struggled in Paris. Berlioz tried to move on with his life, and became engaged to a woman known as Camille (Marie Pleyel, formerly Marie Moke), who was a virtuoso pianist. Camille later surprised Berlioz by marrying someone else. Soon thereafter, Smithson showed a more positive interest in Berlioz, probably due to her dire financial situation and failing career, and the two were married, with opposition of both families and disapproval of friends. Finally in possession of his fair Ophelia, he wrote in a letter to Franz Liszt: "I will never leave her. She is my star. She has understood me. If it is a mistake, you must allow me to make it; she will adorn the closing days of my life, which I hope, will not last long" (Raby 136). The days before the marriage were tumultuous - on one occasion, Berlioz even took an overdose of opium after an argument with Harriet, which imitates the narrative of his Symphonie Fantastique. He wrote in his memoirs, "Frightful shrieks from Henriette! . . .sublime despair! . . .cruel laughter on my part! . . .desire to live again on seeing her vehement protestations of love! . . .am emetic! . . .ipecacuana! vomiting for two hours! . . .there were only two grains of opium left; I was ill for three days and I survived" (Raby 144).
Marie RecioHarriet SmithsonOnce the marriage took place, however, there seemed to be a period of relative happiness. Berlioz tried to help Smithson's career, and she was overjoyed with the birth of their son. Later, Harriet's health declined and she became extremely jealous and suspicious of her husband. He eventually had an affair with Marie Recio, and seemed for a while to be torn between the two women. At one time, he even wrote a goodbye letter to Harriet, but he changed his mind and tore it up at the last minute (Raby 167). They began to live apart, and Harriet took to drinking. For the last years of her life, she was ill and barely able to move or speak. She died in 1854 at the age of 54. Berlioz married Marie Recio about 7 months later. Recio also preceded him in death in 1862.

 

Works influenced by Shakespeare (or inspired by Smithson):

 

Symphonie fantastique
   
King Lear
   
Death of Ophelia
   
Funeral march for the final scene of Hamlet
   
Romeo and Juliet
   
Beatrice and Benedict