Not Quite Romeo: Berlioz, Smithson and the Unspoken Truth

This paper explores Hector Berlioz’s tempestuous relationship with Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, its connection to his Symphonie Fantastique, and the lack of scholarship surrounding these subjects. Using collections of Berlioz’s memoirs and letters to analyze their twenty-six-year relationship, this paper notes the lack of emphasis, within music scholarship, on Berlioz’s mistreatment of Smithson. In addition, this paper draws on the works of Jessica Valenti, Fabio Mariani and Sherry B. Ortner to analyze and relate conceptions of virginity, particularly the purity myth, to Hector Berlioz’s letters. Finally, it suggests that the current scholarship continues to reinforce Berlioz’s historical legacy as an esteemed Romantic composer, despite contemporary discussions of “locker room talk” and sexual misconduct, and their appearance within the literature.