Berlioz and his Juliette, Harriet

In class, I learned about the "relationship" between Berlioz and Harriet Smithson. I was interested to learn more about his infatuation with her. Berlioz first saw Harriet Smithson at the Odéon Theatre in September 1827. Smithson was in an English theatre group, that night she was playing the role of Ophelia in Hamlet. Berlioz didn't understand English, but he instantly fell in love with Smithson just by watching her on stage and hearing the way she spoke. He wanted to be with her at that very moment, despite their age difference of three years. Smithson lived at 1, rue Neuve Saint Marc. Berlioz moved into 96, rue Richelieu so he could watch Smithson come and go. He went to several of her plays, but she paid him no mind. She even went so far to say, "Please do not leave me alone with that man should he come back". Berlioz refused to let his love for this woman die. He caught her attention by ingesting a lethal dose of opium. She agreed to marry him, and that's when he pulled out the antidote. He was sick for days, but they were eventually married. They were married at the British Embassy with Franz Liszt as a witness and the German poet Heinrich Heine as a guest.
  By the time they were married, Harriet's career was in decline. Berlioz organised a concert with Liszt in order to help his wife pay off her debts. When her debts were finally paid off, Berlioz began to have doubts about his wife. Some people believed that Smithson was eager to marry Berlioz because of her financial problems. His own family disapproved of the marriage to a penniless Protestant actress. By 1843, the marriage between Berlioz and Smithson was rocky. Smithson was becoming jealous of her husband's success. Berlioz was also found guilty of having an affair with the singer Marie Recio in 1841. Smithson left Berlioz, but she was still living at Berlioz's expense.

  Towards the end of her life she suffered from paralysis. Harriet Smithson died on March 3, 1854. She was originally buried at the Cimetière Saint Vincent, until Berlioz learned that Saint Vincent was to be destroyed. He moved her remains to Montmartre cemetery. Death isn't funny, but what's ironic about this chain of events is that when Berlioz and Marie Recio died, they were both buried next to Harriet Smithson.