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Les Troyens at Nationaltheater Mannheim – Germany Berlioz at Karlsruher Musiktage – Summer 2003 Symphonic Reading of Berlioz – Chicago Berlioz at Freiburg University – Germany The Michigan Tech Wind Symphony’s Berlioz Bicentennial Birthday Bash Berlioz at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Hector Berlioz stamp issued in Belgium West Riding Opera performances of Béatrice et Bénédict John Nelson’s Berlioz concerts Cycle Hector Berlioz au Louvre [Hector Berlioz Cycle at the Louvre Museum] Berlioz: the Colossal Nightingale – an Australian radio series Cultural Department of Bayer: “Berlioz and his time”, Germany Berlioz Concerts in Puerto Rico Berlioz Festival 2003 in New Mexico LSO/Sir Colin Davis Berlioz Odyssey series (1999-2000) LSO Discovery Week: ‘THE TROJANS’ LSO/Sir Colin Davis bicentenary concerts at the Barbican Centre, London (2003) LSO/Sir Colin Davis bicentenary festival at the Lincoln Center, New York (2003) Sir Roger Norrington and Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR English National Opera’s new production of Les Troyens Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Les Troyens De Nederlandse Opera’s production of Les Troyens Benvenuto Cellini at the Metropolitan Opera Other bicentenary performances

Les Troyens at Nationaltheater Mannheim – Germany

    The Nationaltheater Mannheim staged Les Troyens in October 2003 (four performances). There were further six performances between December 2003 and 14 July 2004. The Nationaltheater Mannheim Orchestra and Chorus were conducted by Axel Kober, with Michail Agafonov, Kathleen Broderick and Susan Maclean in the principal roles.

Berlioz at Karlsruher Musiktage [Karlsruhe Music Days] 2003

    The Karlsruher Musiktage 2003 which took place in the summer, focused on three French composers: Berlioz, Debussy and Messiaen. The programme included also works of other French composers, notably Fauré, Poulenc, Bizet, Satie, Offenbach, Massenet and Franck. Here are the details of Berlioz’s works which were performed in June and July.

14 June, 19.00hr, Neues Forum, Karlsruhe University

Marche hongroise (from La Damnation de Faust)
Dieu! Que viens-je d’entendre? (Recitative and Air from Béatrice et Bénédict)

Collegium musicum of the University, Barbara Beren (soprano), conductor: Hubert Heitz

22 June, 20.00hr, Stephanssaal

L’île inconnue (from Les Nuits d’été)
Sur les lagunes (from Les Nuits d’été)
Le Spectre de la rose (from Les Nuits d’été)

Singers and pianists from Hartmut Höll - Mitsuko Schirai’s Singing Class

29 June, 20.00hr, St. Stephan

Te Deum

Chor St. Stephan, Badischen Staatstheaters, Kammerphilharmonie Karlsruhe, Klaus Schneider (tenor), conductor: Andreas Schröder

5 July, 20.00hr, Christuskirche

L’Enfance du Christ

Chor der Christuskirche and Oratorienchor Karlsruhe, Kammerphilharmonie Karlsruhe, conductor: Carsten Wiebusch
Andreas Reibenspies (Baritone), Locky Chung (Bass); the names of other soloists were not available.

Symphonic Reading of Berlioz – Chicago

“Symphonic Reading of Berlioz: Episode in the Life of an Artist and 200^th Birthday Celebration of Hector Berlioz”,
a reading of Nick Jones’s work in progress Berlioz: Episode in the Life of an Artist

    The event was organised by Smoke & Mirror Productions and was held on 11 December 2003 in the Auditorium of the Sulzer Regional Library.

    Berlioz: Episode in the Life of an Artist is a Symphonic Theatre piece, and this was the first public reading of the script which dramatises elements of the life of Hector Berlioz, setting it to the composer’s own Symphonie fantastique. Berlioz was deeply influenced by theatre and likened seeing Shakespeare and reading Goethe’s Faust to “bolts of lightning”. In fact, Berlioz referred to himself and Harriet Smithson – with whom he was in love and for whom the Symphonie fantastique was created – as Hamlet and Ophelia.

    In creating Berlioz: Episode in the Life of an Artist, Mr. Jones is exploring an idea best described as Symphonic Theatre. The Programme story that the composer created for performances of the Symphonie fantastique and events in Berlioz’s life are the basis for the script of the piece. The Symphonie fantastique was heard in its entirety as accompaniment to the staging.

Berlioz at Freiburg University – Germany

“Quel roman invraisemblable que ma vie! Hector Berlioz on his 200^th birthday”

In collaboration with the Musikwissenschaftliches Seminar [Department of Music]

    Quel roman invraisemblable que ma vie! This was the comment on his own life made by the composer who remains controversial to this day, and who even recently was denied the transfer of his remains to the Pantheon. Berlioz is admittedly considered to be one of his country’s leading composers, though this was at a time when literature in France stood at the centre of artistic interest. But he had to look to Germany for his models, with Gluck and Beethoven, and Germany rewarded him by giving his works the greatest successes he had in his life. As part of the conference there will be a performance of one of his most important works in the version which made Berlioz’s name known in Germany. On the other hand there are few artists who have deeper roots in the culture of 19^th C Europe. The choice of lectures sought to show clearly how closely Berlioz was involved in the artistic and especially the literary life of his native country.

Monday, 1 December 2003, 8.15pm [Room 1119]

Prof. Dr. Matthias Brzoska (Essen): “Berlioz narrates. Epic conception and musical design in the work of Hector Berlioz”

Friday, 16 January 2004, 8.15pm, Haus zur Lieben Hand, Löwenstrasse 16

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique in the piano arrangement by Franz Liszt.

With an introduction by Prof. Dr. Christian Berger and Catherine Klipfel (Essen/Münster), piano

    “In the meantime a young student of medicine in a dark corner on the north coast of France is thinking of new things.” This is how Robert Schumann described his impression of this unknown artist in his path-breaking review of the Symphonie fantastique, which was going to open for Berlioz the way into German concert halls. But it was not the experience of the richly coloured and diverse orchestration of the piece which inspired the reviewer: like the majority of his German admirers Schumann was only able to get to know and experience the work from the piano arrangement. The fact that this arrangement was nevertheless able to convey a strong and deep impression of the work is something which can hardly be recaptured in the age of the CD. What aspects of the work come to the fore as a result can only be conveyed in a convincing way through a live performance.

Thursday, 5 February 2004, 8.15pm (Room 1119)

Prof. Dr. Hermann Hofer (Marburg): “Hector Berlioz in French literature”

    The above programme is our English translation of the original German text which Prof. Dr. Christian Berger of the Musikwissenschaftliches Seminar, Universität Freiburg, kindly sent us.

The Michigan Tech Wind Symphony’s “Berlioz Bicentennial Birthday Bash”

    One highlight of the 2003-2004 season of the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony, Department of Fine Arts, Michigan Technological University, was the “Berlioz Bicentennial Birthday Bash” on 16 November, a concert commemorating the 200th birth year of Berlioz. The Wind Symphony celebrated by donning French berets and performing the composer’s remarkable full-length symphony composed for winds, the Symphonie funèbre et triomphale. Joining them on this festive concert was the Michigan Tech Concert Choir conducted by Milton Olsson. The concert also included the overture Le Carnaval romain and the Marche hongroise from La Damnation de Faust.

Berlioz at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, US

    On Saturday, October 25th, the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, opened its 2003-2004 season with a program entitled “Vive la France”. The Symphony Orchestra played Honegger’s Mouvement symphonique no. 3, Chausson’s Poème, with Northwestern Concerto Competition winner Ann Okagaito, and as a finale, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, to celebrate the bicentennial of the composer’s birth.

Hector Berlioz stamp issued in Belgium

    To mark the 200th anniversary of Berlioz’s birth in 2003, the Belgian Postage Stamps & Philately Department issued a Hector Berlioz stamp on 22 February 2003. We have been given permission to reproduce the image of the stamp on our site: Berlioz Stamp.

West Riding Opera performances of Béatrice et Bénédict

    West Riding Opera staged a full production of Béatrice et Bénédict (in English) under the baton of Martin Binks, their Artistic Director and Conductor. The performances took place in Leeds Civic Theatre from Monday 7th to Friday 12th April.

    Other Berlioz works that Mr Binks conducted in 2003 included: orchestral excerpts from Les Troyens (in October), La Damnation de Faust (in November) and a complete L’Enfance du Christ, also in November. L’Enfance was prefaced with a performance of the rarely, if ever, performed Quartetto e coro dei maggi.

John Nelson’s Berlioz concerts

    On 8 and 11 December 2003 John Nelson conducted two concert performances of Benvenuto Cellini in Paris, held at Radio France, with Gregory Kunde in the title role and the Orchestre National de France. The 11 December performance was broadcast live on Radio France (France-Musiques) and rebroadcast on 10 January 2004. A recording based on both performances was released by EMI/Virgin Classics in October 2004. John Nelson’s production was the unabridged ‘Paris 1’ version. See our Berlioz Discography for further details.

    John Nelson conducted some other major works of Berlioz in 2003, including the Symphonie fantastique, Les Nuits d’été, Roméo et Juliette, Harold en Italie, and L’Enfance du Christ. He conducted a concert performance of Béatrice et Bénédict at the Théâtre du Châtelet in March 2004 (three performances on 16, 18 and 21 March). The last performance was recorded and broadcast on France-Musiques on 22 May 2004.

Cycle Hector Berlioz au Louvre (Hector Berlioz Cycle at the Louvre Museum, Paris)

    The Audiovisual department of the Louvre held a Hector Berlioz Cycle, from 23 January to 2 February 2003. The Cycle, which opened the celebration of the composer’s bicentenary, gave lovers of Berlioz’s music the opportunity to see on screen his most important works.

    Berlioz’s three great operas were screned in standard productions. This included in particular the memorable Benvenuto Cellini which was recorded in 1987 during the Maggio musicale fiorentino, which may be compared with a film on the production conducted by Colin Davis at Covent Garden, one of the landmarks in the “Berlioz Revival” in Britain. Les Troyens and La Damnation de Faust were presented in productions from the Berlioz Festival in Lyon under the direction of Serge Baudo.

    The Requiem was presented in the version conducted by Leonard Bernstein in 1975 in the church of Saint-Louis des Invalides where the work was first performed in 1837.

    The film archives made it possible to realise one of the dreams of the composer of Les Nuits d’été: to have each song performed by a different singer, on this occasion Régine Crespin, Janet Baker, Marilyn Horne, Felicity Lott and Gabriel Bacquier.

    A special session illustrated the evolution in the interpretation of the Symphonie fantastique through the performances by Münch, Karajan, Bernstein, Gardiner and Eschenbach.

    Finally, as illustrated by the film by Christian-Jaque in which Jean-Louis Barrault represents the composer, the influence of Berlioz spread far beyond the concert hall. In tandem with this, the choreography of Massine and Béjart showed how Berlioz’s music has been able to inspire the world of dance and thus enlarge the circle of Berlioz-lovers.

    We are grateful to Madame Diana-Odile Lestage for the information on this project and its detailed programme.

Berlioz: the Colossal Nightingale – an Australian radio series

    From October to December 2003, the listeners of 3-MBS FM were able to follow the life and music of Hector Berlioz in this two-hundredth anniversary programme series, in 16 parts, prepared and presented by long-time ‘Berliozian’ Mark Vendy. The title of the series, “Berlioz – the Colossal Nightingale”, is drawn from a comment penned by the contemporary German poet, Heinrich Heine.

    In the course of the series, listeners heard a number of rare performances including excerpts from Berlioz’s incomplete operas Les Francs-juges and La nonne sanglante, the cantata Chant des chemins de fer and the first response to Goethe, the Huit scènes de Faust, which were later recomposed and incorporated into La Damnation de Faust.

    Berlioz knew and was known by many of the most important artistic figures of the nineteenth century. The program explored the influences that went into making the Berlioz style and how that style has influenced subsequent musicians.

    There were thirteen weekly programmes (two hours each), beginning at 8.00 pm AEST (10.00 am GMT) on Friday, 3 October. The main work in the first programme was the Messe solennelle and it also had music of Dalayrac, R.Kreutzer and Le Sueur.

    A further three programmes featured in “Wednesday Night at the Opera” (first on 15 October), also starting at 8.00 pm local time. These were 4-hour programmes and featured Berlioz’s three operas – Bevenuto Cellini, Béatrice et Bénédict, and Les Troyens, respectively.

Cultural Department of Bayer: “Berlioz and his time” in Germany

    To mark the 200th anniversary of Berlioz’s birth, the cultural department of Bayer, the German multinational company, organised and sponsored a Berlioz cycle, entitled “Hector Berlioz und seine Zeit” [Hector Berlioz and his time] in 2003 and 2004. The Festival Berlioz at La Côte Saint-André was closely involved in this project; it followed similar themes in its programme in France. The Bayer performances took place in the German cities of Leverkusen, Wuppertal and Bonn, between September 2003 and June 2004.

    In addition, the company, in cooperation with Bayer France and the Association Nationale Hector Berlioz, took the initiative of installing a commemorative plaque on the façade of the Conservatoire. The ceremony to inaugurate this plaque took place at 5.00pm on Sunday 14 December 2003. The ceremony was followed by a concert at the Conservatoire by the students of the Conservatoire.

    The following works of Berlioz were performed. Works by many other composers such as Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, Weber, Mendelssohn, Gluck and Wagner were also included.

Overture Les Francs-juges
Harold en Italie
Herminie
Overture Le Carnaval romain
Symphonie fantastique
L’Enfance du Christ
Lélio
Scène héroïque (La Révolution grecque)
Cléopâtre
Grande Messe des morts (Requiem)
Les Nuits d’été
Béatrice et Bénédict (overture)
La Mort d’Orphée
Tristia
Roméo et Juliette (excerpts)

    We are most grateful to Mr Nikolas Kerkenrath, Director of the Cultural Department of Bayer, and Ms Jutta Drews of the Administration who kindly sent us a copy of the complete programme of “Hector Berlioz und seine Zeit”.

Berlioz concerts in Puerto Rico in 2003

    The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra performed a series of Berlioz concerts in 2003. The Music Director and Conductor is Guillermo Figueroa, and the venue for all performances was the Fine Arts Center, San Juan.

    Among other artists who took part in the events were Jennifer Larmore, Justino Diaz, and Michelle de Young who sang the role of Dido in Sir Colin Davis’ performances of Les Troyens at the Barbican Centre (the culmination of the Berlioz Odyssey series in December 2000) and the BBC Proms 2003 in August.

    Here are the details of the concerts:

Berlioz Festival 2003 in New Mexico

    Here is the outline of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Berlioz Festival programme. All performances were conducted by Guillermo Figueroa, the Musical Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

21-22 March
Berlioz Festival 1 – Damnation of Faust

Berlioz:     La Damnation de Faust, Dramatic Legend in Four Parts, Op. 24

Pre-concert commentary on the “Different Guises of Faust” presented by David Cairns, Berlioz biographer

5-26 April
Berlioz Festival 2 – “The Italian Influence”

Mendelssohn    Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, Italian
Paganini          Gran Sonata
Berlioz            Harold en Italie, Symphony for Viola and Orchestra

2-3 May
Berlioz Festival 3 “Berlioz and Schumann – Composer as Critic”

Schumann    Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54

Liszt/Busoni Rhapsodie espagnole
Berlioz         Choruses and Ballet Music from Les Troyens

10-11 October
Shakespeare and the Romantic Age
Berlioz Festival 4

Berlioz   Roméo et Juliette (complete)

Pre-concert commentary on “Roméo Today” presented by Professor D. Kern Holoman

24-25 October
Berlioz 5 – Poets and Places

Berlioz    Overture Le Carnaval romain
Berlioz    Les Nuits d’été
Berlioz    Symphonie fantastique

    The festival will also encompass lectures; at least one recital of Berlioz chamber music; displays of period costumes, literature and art; and, in the autumn of 2003, a staged production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in conjunction with the performance of Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette.

London Symphony Orchestra’s Berlioz Odyssey series (1999-2000)

    The Sir Colin Davis/LSO monumental Berlioz Odyssey came to its climax in December 2000 with three performances of Les Troyens. The Odyssey was launched in December 1999, as part of the Berlioz bicentenary celebrations, with three performances of the opera Benvenuto Cellini and was the most comprehensive cycle of Berlioz’s works ever performed. Spanning 13 months, the series included Berlioz’s greatest large-scale operatic, symphonic and choral works as listed below. All the concerts in the series were conducted by Sir Colin Davis. The series also included an LSO DiscoveryWeek.

See also David Cairns’ conversation with Sir Colin.

* These concerts were recorded for release on the LSO Live label. See Berlioz Discography for further details.

Les Troyens was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3:
Acts I and II at 7.30 pm (GMT) on Wednesday 6 December
Acts III, IV and V at 7.00pm (GMT) on Thursday 7 December

LSO Discovery Week: ‘THE TROJANS’

3 - 9 December 2000 - The Barbican Centre, London

    The LSO’s year-long Berlioz Odyssey reached a momentous climax with performances of The Trojans, Berlioz’s crowning achievement. Throughout the week LSO Discovery presented a series of talks and other special events exploring this operatic masterpiece. The highlight of the week was Sir Colin Davis’ film interview on Sunday 3 December.

    Speakers and other contributors included:

Sir Colin Davis
David Cairns
David Charlton
Sarah Lenton
Paul Banks
Hugh Macdonald
LSO musicians

    Here is the timetable of these exciting events:

Sunday 3 December, 1.15-2.20pm (Cinema 3)
Sir Colin Davis film interview and Berlioz Symposium

A unique opportunity to hear Sir Colin Davis talk about the Berlioz Odyssey series in an exclusive Discovery film interview with David Cairns, preceded by a discussion with Berlioz experts Paul Banks and Hugh Macdonald, and LSO musicians, chaired by David Cairns.

Sunday 3 December, 5.15-6pm (Barbican Hall)
The Trojans: Historical Context

David Cairns discussed the place of The Trojans in the history of opera, and showed how the work which formed the climax of the LSO’s Berlioz Odyssey sums up the composer’s art and life.

Wednesday 6 December, 6.15-7pm and Thursday 7 December, 6-6.45pm (Barbican Library)
Exploring the Aeneid

Sometime in the Greek Dark Ages, Trojans abducted the Greek Queen Helen. After 10 weary years the Greeks stormed Troy, razed the city to the ground and got the lady back. The only account of the conflict comes from Greek poet Homer – so why do his readers always side with Troy? Why did Virgil’s follow-on epic concentrate on a Trojan (Prince Aeneas) and why did Berlioz call his work The Trojans? With Sarah Lenton.

Saturday 9 December, 1.45-2.30pm (Cinema 3)
Researching Berlioz

David Cairns talked about his research into Berlioz and traces the change in the great French composer’s reputation which resulted from the Covent Garden production of The Trojans in 1957.

Saturday 9 December, 5.15-6pm
(Barbican Hall) Sonority and Structure

David Charlton explored how Berlioz designed The Trojans using the resources of French grand opera. He also showed how the richness of the score links together its extraordinary ‘palette’ of musical sonority with the onward progress of the epic.

Saturday 9 December, 6.15-6.45pm (Barbican Foyer, Level –1)
Book-Signing

David Cairns signed copies of his Berlioz biography.

Sir Colin Davis and LSO bicentenary concerts at the Barbican Centre, London (2003)

    The following works were performed in February:

* Harold en Italie, with Tabea Zimmermann as the soloist, was recorded for release on the LSO Live label. See Berlioz Discography for further details.

Sir Colin Davis and the LSO bicentenary festival in Lincoln Center, New York (2003)

“Fantastic Voyages: The Genius of Hector Berlioz”

    In conjunction with the concerts and the symposium listed below, the festival also included a reprise of Basil Twist’s abstract underwater puppet show, Symphonie Fantastique. Puppeteer Basil Twist’s imagery draws visual inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky’s paintings and Oskar Fischinger’s films.

    You will find a review of these concerts by Professor Harry Saltzman in the Reviews section of our site.

Sir Roger Norrington and Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR bicentenary concerts

    These concerts, started in September 2002, took place mainly in Germany and culminated in August and September 2003 in concert performances of Benvenuto Cellini (Weimar version) in five major European cities.

English National Opera’s new production of Les Troyens

    The ENO’s first staging of Berlioz’s masterpiece marked the 200^th anniversary of the composer’s birth and formed the centrepiece of their 2003/2004 season. There were 8 performances of the first two acts between 27 January and 26 February 2003. These were followed by 9 performances of acts 3, 4, and 5 between 8 May and 6 June 2003. There were also 5 integrated complete performances of the opera in September and October 2004.

    See also the Archive of Performances for further details.

    The English translation of the libretto was by Hugh Macdonald and the opera was conducted by Paul Daniel. Read also reviews of this production by Alastair Bruce.

Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Les Troyens

    The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of this opera was conducted by James Levine.

    You will find a review of this production by Professor Harry Saltzman in the Reviews section of our site.

De Nederlandse Opera’s production of Les Troyens

    The Netherland Opera staged Les Troyens in Amsterdam between 5 and 26 October 2003 (8 performances), under Edo de Waart’s baton. The cast included: Donald Kaasch, Petra Lang, Yvonne Naef, Peter Coleman-Wright, John Osborn and Isabelle Cals. The producer was Pierre Audi. This production was a homage to the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said who had died earlier in the same year.

Benvenuto Cellini at the Metropolitan Opera

    The Metropolitan Opera in New York staged Benvenuto Cellini on 4, 8, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 27 December 2003; the final performance was on 1 January 2004. The performance on the 27th was broadcast live on a number of radio stations around the world, including BBC Radio 3.

    You will find two reviews of this production by Thomas T Field and Professor Harry Saltzman in the Reviews section of our site.

Other bicentenary performances

    More details on the performances listed below may be found in the page Archive of performances of Berlioz’s music around the world.

    For more details see also Archive of performances of Berlioz’s music around the world.

Celebrations 1  Celebrations 2  Celebrations 3

The Hector Berlioz Website was created by Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin on 18 July 1997
The Bicentenary Celebrations pages created on 27 December 2000, and reorganised on 10 May 2003; substantial additions and updates made since. Last revision on 1 April 2023.

© Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin

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