Hector Berlioz was a great admirer of the plays of William Shakespeare. When an English troupe of actors arrived in Paris in the fall of 1827 to perform the works of Shakespeare, he was one of the many now illustrious figures in the audience of a production of Hamlet, which included Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Vigny and Eugène Delacroix. From his love for the plays of Shakespeare came that night Berlioz’s love for a young English actress that played the role of Ophelia—Harriet Smithson. Berlioz pursued Smithson for years and she famously became the inspiration for Berlioz’s most popular work, the Symphonie fantasique. Eventually, the two were wed in 1833. However, despite what seemingly began as a romantic love story fitting for the age, the relationship eventually fell apart. Harriet, who spoke little French, was isolated from society, became an alcoholic and eventually even abusive. In response to this embittered transformation of the woman he so passionately fought for, Berlioz composed La mort d’Ophélie in the spring of 1842. Several years after the composition of La mort d’Ophélie, in 1848, Berlioz scored the work for female chorus and orchestra and included it as the second number in his Tristia (Latin for “sad things”) along with another work inspired by Hamlet,Marche funèbre pour la dernière scène d'Hamlet (Funeral March for the final scene of Hamlet).
The words of La mort d’Ophélie were provided by Berlioz’s friend, Eugene Legouvé and were a paraphrase of Queen Gertrude’s account of the Ophelia’s drowning in Act IV of Hamlet. Summoning both the play and the tragic role Harriet had so eloquently played the night Berlioz fell in love with her, he did not stop there—he even gave subtle reference to Harriet’s melody from the Symphonie fantastique. A lyrical 6/8 meter and a rippling accompaniment depicting the scenic brook in Shakespeare’s play underlie the tragic tone of the words. Beginning in A-flat major, the piece inevitably turns towards both the relative and tonic minor keys, creating a disturbing and haunting quality in the otherwise tuneful vocal melody. Throughout the piece, Berlioz’s imaginative accompaniment and text painting heightens the tragic tone of the words.Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Soprano
Hector Berlioz
La Mort d’Ophélie Play
Recorded on 06/02/2004, uploaded on 04/20/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Hector Berlioz was a great admirer of the plays of William Shakespeare. When an English troupe of actors arrived in Paris in the fall of 1827 to perform the works of Shakespeare, he was one of the many now illustrious figures in the audience of a production of Hamlet, which included Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Vigny and Eugène Delacroix. From his love for the plays of Shakespeare came that night Berlioz’s love for a young English actress that played the role of Ophelia—Harriet Smithson. Berlioz pursued Smithson for years and she famously became the inspiration for Berlioz’s most popular work, the Symphonie fantasique. Eventually, the two were wed in 1833. However, despite what seemingly began as a romantic love story fitting for the age, the relationship eventually fell apart. Harriet, who spoke little French, was isolated from society, became an alcoholic and eventually even abusive. In response to this embittered transformation of the woman he so passionately fought for, Berlioz composed La mort d’Ophélie in the spring of 1842. Several years after the composition of La mort d’Ophélie, in 1848, Berlioz scored the work for female chorus and orchestra and included it as the second number in his Tristia (Latin for “sad things”) along with another work inspired by Hamlet, Marche funèbre pour la dernière scène d'Hamlet (Funeral March for the final scene of Hamlet).
The words of La mort d’Ophélie were provided by Berlioz’s friend, Eugene Legouvé and were a paraphrase of Queen Gertrude’s account of the Ophelia’s drowning in Act IV of Hamlet. Summoning both the play and the tragic role Harriet had so eloquently played the night Berlioz fell in love with her, he did not stop there—he even gave subtle reference to Harriet’s melody from the Symphonie fantastique. A lyrical 6/8 meter and a rippling accompaniment depicting the scenic brook in Shakespeare’s play underlie the tragic tone of the words. Beginning in A-flat major, the piece inevitably turns towards both the relative and tonic minor keys, creating a disturbing and haunting quality in the otherwise tuneful vocal melody. Throughout the piece, Berlioz’s imaginative accompaniment and text painting heightens the tragic tone of the words. Joseph DuBose
Auprès d'un torrent Ophélie
Cueillait tout en suivent le bord,
Dans sa douce et tender folie,
Des pervenches, des boutons d'or
Des iris aux couleurs d'opale,
Et de ces fleurs d'un rose pâle
Qu'on appelle le doights d'amour.
Ah!
Puis élevant sur ses mains blanches,
Les riants trésors du matin,
Elle les suspendait aux branches,
Aux branches d'un saule voisin.
Mais trop faible le rameau plie.
Se brise, et la pauvre Ophélie
Tombe, sa guirlande à la main.
Quelques instants, sa robe enflée
La tint encore sur le courant.
Et comme une voile gonflée.
Elle flottait toujours chantant,
Chantant quelque vieille ballade,
Chantant ainsi qu'une naïade,
Née au milieu de ce torrent.
Mais, cette étrange mélodie
Passa, rapide comme un son.
Par les flots la robe alourdie
Bientôt dans l'àbîme profound
Entraîna la pauvre insensée,
Laissent à peine commencée
Sa mélodieuse chanson.
Ah!
Beside a brook, Ophelia
Was gathering, as she followed the water's edge,
In her sweet and tender madness,
Periwinkles, crow flowers,
Irises the colour of opals,
And those pale pink blossoms
Known as dead man's fingers.
Ah!
Then, lifting in her white hands
The smiling treasures of the morning,
She hung them on the branches
Of a nearby willow;
But the bough, not being strong enough,
Bent and broke, and poor Ophelia
Fell, her garland in her hand.
For a few moments her dress spread wide
Bore her up on the water
And, like an air-filled sail,
She floated, singing still,
Chanting some old ballade;
Singing like some naiad
Born in the midst of this stream.
But this strange song
Ended, as fleeting as a snatch of sound.
Her dress, heavy with water,
Soon into the depths
Dragged the poor distracted girl,
Leaving as yet hardly begun
Her melodious chant.
Ah!
More music by Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique, first movement
Villanelle, from Les Nuits d’été
Au cimetière, from Les Nuits d'été
L'île inconnue, from Les Nuits d'été
Un Bal, from Symphony Fantastique
Symphonie fantastique, second movement
Morte di Didone, from Les Troyens
Chasse royale et orage, from Les Troyens
Benvenuto Cellini, Ouverture
Harold in Italy, part 1
Performances by same musician(s)
Lucrezia, a cantata
Ophelia-Lieder, op. 67
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