All his life Berlioz was a theater man. He regarded Shakespeare as the true master of the stage, a kindred spirit, an alter ego two centuries removed. The famous actress Harriet Smithson, whom Berlioz saw on stage in Romeo and Juliet, would become his muse and later his wife, the source of a consuming flame, a creature who inspired him, particularly when it came to writing his symphonie dramatique, Roméo et Juliette. Karen Cargill joins Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain for an evening of pure romanticism.
Louise FARRENC, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 35
Hector BERLIOZ, La Mort de Cléopâtre, scène lyrique
Hector BERLIOZ, Roméo et Juliette, symphonie dramatique, Op. 17 (excerpts)
