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Hector Berlioz
Beatrice and Benedict Overture
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) contributed to the stature of French Romantic Opera. He composed three notable operas which were acknowledged as important works during his lifetime. After Berlioz won the Prix de Rome in 1830, the music he produced from then until the mid-1840s remains some of his best work. Based upon themes from Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini (1838), the Roman Carnival Overture was composed in 1843. In 1856-1858 Les Troyans (The Trojans), a grandiose opera in five acts was produced, and later it was divided into two parts: The Capture of Troy and The Trojans.
The opera Beatrice and Benedict was written in 1860-1862. It was a two act comic opera based on Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Berlioz's interest in Shakespearean plays was enhanced by a love affair he had had with a famous Shakespearean actress, Harriet Smithson. Unfortunately the union ended in an unsuccessful marriage.
The Beatrice and Benedict Overture, considered one of Berlioz's best short instrumental pieces, characterizes his Romantic style. The overture presents shocking dynamic contrasts reinforced by the brass. The impetuousness of continual motion is enhanced by the triplet and dotted rhythms, first heard in the strings and winds. Berlioz was a gifted orchestrator, and in 1855, he wrote the first notable textbook on the subject entitled Treatise on Instrumentation and Orchestration.
-- program notes by Laurien Jones