Berlioz and Officialdom: Unpublished CorrespondenceBerlioz and Officialdom: Unpublished Correspondence PETER BLOOM In his dealings with the French government, that great bureaucratic

Berlioz and Officialdom:

Unpublished Correspondence PETER BLOOM

In his dealings with the French government, that great bureaucratic edifice, Hector Berlioz seems always to have been coming up against stone walls. His efforts to obtain contracts, agreements, or jobs from the principal Parisian musical institutions that were subsidized and controlled to varying degrees by the central

authorities--notably the Opera de Paris and the Conservatoire de Musique-were often laborious and unprofitable. But Berlioz did have some friends in high places, and from time to time they honored his aspirations with financial assistance, his concerts with august patronage, and his judgement with administra- tive action.

During the period of the Bourbon Restora- tion, Berlioz was regularly assisted by a man sometimes ridiculed by artists of the period

and by subsequent art historians, Vicomte Sosthene de La Rochefoucauld (de Dou- deauville) (1785-1864), Charge du De- partement des Beaux-Arts de la Maison du Roi. The Viscount was no doubt puritanical and conservative, but his efforts to aid certain young artists were, I believe, frequent and sincere. Countless archival documents suggest that his role was not an inconsiderable one in the renovation of the Opera and Conservatoire that took place in the later 1820s, with land- mark performances of new works by Auber and Rossini, and of the symphonies of Beethoven, by the opera and the new Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire. The dedication of Berlioz's opus 1 to the Viscount is evidence, among other things, that the composer appreciated the older man's understanding of the plight of the enthusiastic young creative artist. The ex- change of letters that has been published in Berlioz's Correspondance g4ndrale testifies to their cordial relationship. Further unpublished

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correspondence shows that the Viscount was specifically helpful to Berlioz on several heretofore unsuspected occasions, and was generally at least willing to entertain sugges- tions for innovation in Parisian musical esta-

blishments.1 In accepting the dedication of Huit Scenes de Faust, the Viscount said, "I welcome the opportunity to give you renewed evidence of the interest I take in your ability, already so worthy of encouragement as you take the first steps of your career."2

Berlioz had other contacts with government officials during the reign of Charles X,3 and sued unsuccessfully for a government stipend. It it not remarkable that a Romantic thinker of Berlioz's temperament, so enchanted with Shakespeare, Byron, Scott, and Moore, might wish to associate himself in general with a Bourbon regime which was not only linked to the earlier glories of French art, but which also owed its restoration after the demise of Napo- leon in large measure to the forces of British diplomacy. But it was after the Revolution of 1830, and after his return to Paris from Rome, that Berlioz's engagement with French officialdom began in earnest.

The campaigns Berlioz fought in the Pari- sian capital during the period of Louis- Philippe-Berlioz's "period of externaliza- tion"-are well documented in his M4moires and correspondence. The cast of characters in the story of the commissioning and performance of the Requiem (the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of War, the Director of Fine Arts) has its governmental heroes, villains, and fools. This story continues to stand as representative of Ber- lioz's generally melodramatic dealings with government.

In the following series of heretofore unpublished letters, new light is shed on some of those dealings, and in particular, on our knowledge of the relationship Berlioz maintained with the most popular member of the royal family. Ferdinand Philippe (1810-42), King Louis-Philippe's eldest son, inherited the title of Duc d'Orleans when his father acceded to the throne of France. During his brief public career, the Duc d'Orleans became known as much for the protection he offered to the artists of his generation as for the military heroism he demonstrated during the French colonization of northern Africa. In the archives of the House of Orleans there are some nine large cartons containing many hundreds of letters addressed to the Duke by artists soliciting royal patronage for paintings, sculptures, theatrical representations, and concert performances.4 Authorizations for payment ("mandats de paiement") accompany all the letters that have been preserved; in many cases the authorization is preserved but the letter of request is

PETER BLOOM Berlioz and Officialdom

'The draft of a letter, dated 26 January 1826, which the Vis- count wrote to Rodolphe Kreutzer (Paris, Archives Nationales [henceforth A.N.] 03 1619 [I]), recommending that a cantata by Berlioz be performed at a forthcoming Concert spirituel, suggests that the Director of Fine Arts had already formed a positive view of the young composer by that date ("I should be pleased if your judgement is in accord with the favorable opinion I am forming of M. Ber- lioz"). This draft is also the unique source of a title-Le Triomphe de la Croix-for a work that we know as La Revolution grecque. See Adolphe Boschot, Un Roman- tique sous Louis-Philippe (Paris, 1908), p. 641, and D. Kern Holoman, Autograph Musical Documents of Hector Ber- lioz, c. 1818-1840 (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1974), pp. 56-57.

In the same dossier in the Archives Nationales, there is the draft of a letter from the Viscount to Cherubini, soliciting his advice on the establishment of a new musical society, a Gymnase Lyrique, planned by ten young musicians, Berlioz among them, under the leadership of Stephen de la Madelaine. See Adolphe Boschot, La Jeunesse d'un romantique (Paris, 1906), p. 311. (The letter from these musicians seeking assistance from the Department of Fine Arts, in Berlioz's hand, is preserved in the dossier.)

Further documents in this archival series attest to the Viscount's continued interventions, on Berlioz's behalf, in obtaining both the concert hall at the Conservatoire for the concert of 1 November 1829, and a special honorarium for the composer to offset his expenses on that occasion.

2A.N., 03 1305. This is a draft of the Viscount's complete letter of acceptance. (The editor of Berlioz's correspondence indicates that the Viscount's reply is lost.) See Hector Berlioz, Correspondance gundrale 1, 1803-1832, ed. Pierre Citron (Paris, 1972), p. 240, fn. 1. This volume is abbreviated here as CG I. Volume II, 1832-42, ed. Frederic Robert (1975), is abbreviated as CG II; volume III, 1842-50, ed. Citron (1978), as CG III. 31n his brief contact with the Minister of the Interior, Comte de Martignac, Berlioz tried to obtain a stipend as winner of a second prize in the annual concours sponsored by the Academie des Beaux-Arts (CG I, 204-05, 207). 41 should like to thank Monsieur Michel Bouille and Madame Suzanne d'Huart of the Archives Nationales for generously assisting my work in these archives, and Mon- seigneur le Comte de Paris for authorization to use the series 300 AP I which belongs to the House of Orleans.

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1 9C 7 N

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not.5 The picture that emerges from these records is that of a man who, having been raised in a household regularly treated to artistic performances of all sorts (the Comedie fran- 9aise played, after all, in one of the larger rooms of his home), was genuinely appreciative of the arts.6

That picture is effectively enhanced by the several letters of Berlioz preserved in the dos- siers, some of which are far from the sort of standard form-letter that requests patronage but lacks personal or artistic interest. (This is the sort that most of those artists listed in the note sent to the Duke.) But Berlioz did have to learn the proper manner of addressing a member of the royal family (on 18 November 1833 he wrote to Thomas Gounet for assis- tance7), and his first letter to the Duc d'Or- leans, dated 22 November 1833, is rather formal indeed:

[1]

A son altesse royale Monseigneur le Duc d'Orl6ans

Monseigneur La protection que votre altesse royale accorde

aux arts et aux artistes, m'enhardit a la prier de vouloir bien honorer de sa presence la representation dramatique suivie d'un concert qui aura lieu dimanche prochain 24 dans la salle du

theittre Italien.

J'ai l'honneur d'en joindre ici le programme.

J'invoquerai, prince, les temoignages d'interet que votre altesse royale a daigne accorder a l'admirable talent de l'etrangere que je viens d'epouser et ceux que j'ai personnellement requs de vous en plusieurs occasions. Si ce ne sont pas des titres, j'es- pere que votre altesse y trouvera une excuse au voeu que j'ose exprimer.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre, avec un profond respect, prince, de votre altesse royale [,] Le tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur

Hector Berlioz Paris [,] 22 novembre 18338

A.N., 300 AP I, 2388.

The protection that Your Royal Highness accords the arts and artists gives me the courage to request him to honor with his presence the dramatic representation followed by a concert that will take place next Sunday, the 24th, in the auditorium of the The'tre Italien. I have the honor to enclose herewith the program.

I will call upon, Prince, the expressions of interest that Your Royal Highness has deigned to accord the talent of the admirable foreigner whom I have just married, and upon those I have personally received from you on several occasions. If these are not entitlements, I hope Your Highness will find in them an excuse for my boldness in expressing such a wish.

Berlioz's concert of 24 November 1833 was originally to be held earlier in the month at the The'tre de l'Odeon.9 When plans to use that theater did not materialize, Berlioz wrote to the Minister of Commerce and Public Works, Adolphe Thiers, asking permission to use the The?tre Italien. The composer's letter of 24 October seems not to have been preserved, but a draft of the Minister's reply does survive: it is printed here in the appendix to this article.

In mentioning the generosity the Duc d'Or- leans had lately shown Harriet Smithson, Ber-

5In A.N., 300 AP I, 2387-2396, there are letters from the following musicians: Pierre Baillot, Alexandre Batta, Charles de Beriot, Hector Berlioz, Henri Bertini, Max Bohrer, Ernest Deldevez, Theodor Dohler, Henri Ernst, Francois-Joseph F~tis, Giulia Grisi, Joseph Habeneck, George Hainl, Henri Herz, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Louis Lablache, Sophie Larmande, Franz Liszt, Hippolyte Mon- pou, Adolphe Nourrit, Jacques Offenbach, Auguste Panse- ron, Charles Plantade, Julie Ponchard, Giovanni-Battista Rubini, Ludwig Schunke, Adrien-Frangois Servais, Fer- nando Sor, Albert Sowinsky, Stephen de la Madelaine, Au- guste and Francois Stoepel, Alexandre and Theophile Til- mant, Charles Triebert, Caroline Unger, Henri Vieux- temps, and Clara Wieck. 6For a picture of the rich artistic life of the Orlkans family before the July Revolution, see the Journal intime de Cuvillier-Fleury I (Paris, 1900). Cuvillier-Fleury was the tutor of the younger Orleans children, and the regular companion of the oldest, Ferdinand-Philippe. 7CG II, 133. If Berlioz had earlier contact with the Orleans family, it might well have been through the intermediacy of Camille Moke, who played for the Queen in September of 1830, when Berlioz was Camille's constant companion. (See CG I, 359.)

8The texts of the letters published in this article have been edited only to conform to modern French usage with respect to spelling: endings in "ens" have been changed to l"ents," and accents have been added when necessary. Ber- lioz's inconsistent capitalization remains unchanged (though in some instances it is not possible to distinguish his lower case letters from his capitals). Editorial additions appear in square brackets. For advice on translation from the French I should like to thank Professor Jocelyne Kolb and Katherine Reeve. 9See Berlioz's letter to d'Ortigue of 15 October 1833 in CG II, 124.

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lioz was not simply being polite. Harriet had indeed written to the Duke in the spring of 1833, on 28 March, requesting royal patronage for the benefit concert that was to take place on 2 April 1833 (a concert Berlioz discusses in chapter 44 of the MWmoires and in the letter to his sister of 3 April 1833).10 Harriet's letter, in its original English, can be seen in the appendix. In the MWmoires Berlioz says that it was he who "managed to carry through the arrangements for that fatal benefit performance which had occasioned the accident""11 in which Har- riet broke her leg stepping down from a car- riage. In fact, we now have further proof that Berlioz was acting as, among other things, Har- riet's amanuensis, in the form of three autograph letters addressed to Thiers, composed and penned by Berlioz in his inimitable calligraphic hand, and signed by Harriet C. Smithson. These letters-"created" by Berlioz and therefore, in my view, to be included in the corpus of his complete correspondence-are printed below. In the first, Harriet thanks the Minister for patronizing the benefit concert of 2 April 1833. In the second and third she seeks to make certain that the privilege of giving theatrical performances in Paris, in English, would continue to be hers after the reconstitu- tion of her troupe.12

[2]

A Monsieur le ministre du commerce et des trav[au]x publics

Monsieur le ministre Veuillez aggreer [sic] l'expression de ma recon-

naissance pour les temoignages d'interet que vous m'avez accordes; etrangere et souffrante, je suis doublement sensible a la protection bienveillante et a l'accueil gracieux que j'ai requs de vous; croyez,

monsieur, que je ressens comme je le dois tout ce que vous avez fait pour moi.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre [,] Monsieur le ministre [,] votre devou~e

Harriet C. Smithson 3 avril 183313

A.N., F21 1154.

Please accept my most sincere appreciation for the expressions of interest you have accorded me. As a foreigner, and ailing, I am doubly appreciative of the indulgent protection and gracious reception I have received from you. Rest assured, Monsieur, that I continue to appreciate as I ought everything that you have done for me.

[3]

A monsieur le ministre du Commerce et des tr[avau]x publics

Monsieur le ministre, Le privilege du theitre Anglais que vous aviez

bien voulu m'accorder pour douze representations etant expire, j'ose esperer que vous serez assez bon pour me continuer la meme faveur. Veuillez, monsieur le ministre, recevoir mes sinceres remercie- ments pour la protection bienveillante dont vous m'avez honore jusqu'a ce jour.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre avec respect, monsieur le ministre, votre tres humble servante

Harriet C. Smithson Rue Castiglione N" 10 Paris [,] 11 avril [1833]

A.N., F21 1154.

Since the privilege of the Theatre Anglais that you had graciously accorded me for twelve performances has expired, I dare to hope that you will be good enough to grant me the same favor again. Please accept, Monsieur le Ministre, my sincere thanks for the generous protection with which you have honored me to this day.


IoCG II, 95-97. "David Cairns, ed. and trans., The Memoirs of Hector Ber- lioz (New York, 1975), p. 220. 12In fact, Harriet had never been granted an exclusive privilege to give performances of English dramas. The official privilege was held by the Director of the Theatre Ita- lien, Edouard Robert, who signed a contract with the Vi- comte de La Rochefoucauld on 29 June 1829, for the six- year period after 1 October 1830, giving him the exclusive right to present "performances in foreign languages, be they lyric or dramatic." (Paris, Bibliotheque de l'Opera,

Arch. Th. Paris, Theatre Italien, 4.) Harriet had simply received exceptional permission to give such performances from the Comte d'Argout, Thiers's predecessor as Minister of Commerce and Public Works, in the fall of 1832. The several letters exchanged between Harriet and the Comte d'Argout-including one in which the actress abandons all formality and exclaims that "thirty English artists have been out of bread for the last three weeks"-are preserved in A.N., F21 1154. 13In this and the next two letters, everything is in Berlioz's hand except the three signatures by Harriet.

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[4]

A monsieur le ministre du commerce et des Tr[avau]x publics

Monsieur le ministre, Vous avez bien voulu m'accorder le privileige du

theatre Anglais a Paris; je suis plus disposee que jamais a en faire usage; je m'occupe activement dans ce moment-ci de composer ma troupe de talents assez distingues pour que les chances de mon succes qui existaient dans la premiere, ne m'exposent pas a un nouveau mecompte. Les relations que j'ai con- servees avec les artistes les plus en renom de l'Angleterre me donnent toutes sortes de facilites a cet egard. J'ose donc esperer, Monsieur, que vous voudrez bien me conserver les avantages que vous m'aviez accordes avec tant de bienveillance et ne pas me retirer la parole que j'avais reque de vous.

J'ai l'honneur d'&tre avec un profond respect, monsieur le ministre, votre tres humble servante

Harriet C. Smithson Paris [,] 26 avril 1833 rue Castiglione N' 10

A.N., F21 1154.

You have been willing to accord me the privilege of the Theatre Anglais in Paris. I am more than ever disposed to use it. At this very moment I am actively engaged in composing my troupe of actors distinguished enough so that the chances for my success-which existed in my first troupe-do not leave me open to another disappointment. The relations which I have kept with the most renowned artists of England give me all sorts of advantages in this regard. I therefore dare to hope, Monsieur, that you will allow me to maintain the privilege you so generously accorded me, and that you will not go back on your word.

Harriet was obviously sharing her troubles with Berlioz at the time, and even with his help she was unable to obtain the desired privilege. When everything became too much for her (her uncertain finances and her still unhealed leg) and she decided to go home to London--a decision that would once again have wrenched Ber- lioz's heart-she wrote her own letter, in French, this time to the Duc d'Orleans, asking for 200 francs to cover the cost of her trip (see appendix).

For his concert of 24 November 1833 (to return to the text of letter 1 above) Berlioz did indeed receive an honorarium of 200 francs from the Duke.14 If he and his entourage were in fact in attendance, they were surely disappointed, at least in part. The dramatic representations

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by Mmes Dorval and Berlioz-Smithson went reasonably well, but the musical portion of the entertainment began just before midnight, members of the orchestra began leaving shortly after the hour, and the evening ended in confusion, with Berlioz having to announce his inability to proceed to the main musical event, the Symphonie fantastique. 15

Berlioz's next letter to the Duke, dated 17 October 1834, is the piece majeure of the group published here for the first time. It goes far be- yond the typical letter of solicitation,16 and re- veals highly personal emotions:

[5]

A son altesse Royale Monseigneur le duc d'Orleans

Monseigneur Un artiste que des difficultes sans nombre retar-

dent dans sa carriere et tourmentent sans le rebuter, serait-il mal venu de rechercher l'appui d'un auguste patronage? Votre Altesse royale a montre trop sou- vent ce que les jeunes gens pouvaient esperer de sa bienveillante sympathie, pour ne pas m'enhardir dans la demarche que je viens tenter aupres d'elle. 11 est peu probable, Monseigneur, que mon nom soit parvenu jusqu'a votre altesse sans dtre accompagne des epithetes de fou et d'extravagant. J'ai beau m'entendre repeter par la voix de mes amis et par celle de l'infiniment petite portion du public qu'on appelle mes fanatiques, que ces reproches d'extravagance et de folie ont ete addresses [sic] de tout temps aux artistes qui s'ecartaient tant soit peu de la grande route battue par la foule, il n'est pas moins certain qu'une opposition constante et infatigable me ferme a-peu- pres toutes les avenues.

Je viens donc, Monseigneur, prier votre altesse R[oya]le de vouloir bien assister au concert que je vais donner au conservatoire et dont je joins ici le programme. Peut-dtre, apres avoir entendu executer ma musique par cent-trente jeunes gens qui tiennent tous plus ou moins des defauts qu'on me reproche, votre altesse jugera-t-elle comme mes amis qu'une place a Charenton n'est pas ce qu'il y a de plus ur- gent pour moi. Opiniatre comme je suis et deter-

14A receipt for 200 francs, signed "H. Berlioz-Smithson," is preserved in A.N., 300 AP I, 2388, with Berlioz's letter of 18 November 1833,.a "mandat de paiement," and a request to the Duke for reimbursement from his financial secretary, M Asseline, who had advanced the money to Berlioz. 'SThis concert is discussed by Peter Bloom and D. Kern Holoman in "Berlioz's Music for L'Europe litteraire," Music Review 39 (1978), esp. pp. 106-07. 16For the sake of comparison I have included in the appendix an unpublished letter of invitation to a concert addressed to the Duke by Franz Liszt.

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mine a travailler pour arriver a mon but avec la plus inebranlable perseverance, dusse-je me frayer un passage avec les ongles et les dents au travers de la porte qui ne veut pas s'ouvrir, je crois bien que j'y parviendrai un jour; malheureusement, il se pourrait que ce jour n'arrive que lorsque je n'aurai plus ni ongles ni dents, et c'est une pensee affreuse pour un artiste qui se sent dans toute sa force et craint de ne pouvoir plus aller qu'en declinant.

Serai-je assez heureux, Monseigneur, pour que votre altesse veuille bien m'accorder un instant de loisir et venir juger par elle meme si je suis ou non digne de sa haute protection ... [sic]

Je suis avec un profond respect [,] Monseigneur, de votre altesse Royale le tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur

Hector Berlioz ce 17 octobre 1834 Rue de Londres N' 34

A.N., 300 AP I, 2389.

Would an artist, whose career is held back by innu- merable problems that torment but do not dis- hearten him, be ill-advised to seek the support of an august patron? Your Royal Highness has too often displayed all that a young person could hope for in the way of generous understanding for me not to be em- boldened to approach him as I do now. It is hardly likely, Monseigneur, that my name has come to Your Highness's attention without the accompany- ing epithets of "lunatic" and "eccentric." Though I hear repeatedly from the voice of my friends and from that of the infinitesimally small segment of the public referred to as my "fanatics" that such re- proaches of lunacy and eccentricity have been addressed from time immemorial to artists who depart even ever so slightly from the beaten track, it is still no less certain that almost all of the avenues to success are closed off to me by a constant and indefati- gable opposition.

I come therefore, Monseigneur, to beseech Your Royal Highness to have the goodness to attend the concert that I am going to give at the Conservatoire and for which I herewith enclose the program. Perhaps, after having heard my music performed by one-hundred-thirty young persons all of whom are more or less touched by the same disequilibrium for which I am criticized, Your Highness will decide for himself, as my friends have done, that a room at Charenton is not what I most urgently need. Obsti- nate as I am, and determined to work towards my goal with the most unswerving perseverance, even if I should have to claw the way for myself with teeth and nails through gates that refuse to open, I firmly believe that one day I shall succeed. Unfortunately, it is possible that that day will come only when I have no longer teeth nor nails, and this is a horrible thought for an artist who feels himself in the full- ness of his creativity, and fears that henceforth his creative powers can only decline.

May I hope, Monseigneur, that Your Highness might be willing to grant me a moment of his time and come judge for himself whether I am or am not worthy of his noble protection.

Distinctly dated 17 October 1834, this letter would seem to have been written two days after Berlioz, with his wife and infant son, moved from the rue Saint-Denis in Montmartre into the unfurnished apartment at 34, rue de Londres. Such a move might well have been responsible for the emotional summing-up the letter represents. But in fact the strain under which Berlioz was laboring led him to misdate the letter: it was surely written on 17 November 1834. The program enclosed with the letter is for Berlioz's "Deuxikme Grand Concert vocal et instrumental," which took place at the Conservatoire on 23 November. (The premier concert took place on 9 November.) It is hardly likely that Berlioz would have invited the Duc d'Orleans to a concert that was not to take place until more than a month later. Furthermore, from the letter Berlioz wrote to the Duke on 1 December 1836 (letter 8 below), we know that the Duke attended the premiere of Harold en Italie, which was given on 23 November as the last item of the following program:

1) Ouverture de Waverley 2) Fantaisie romantique pour soprano et or-

chestre, sur une Orientale de Victor Hugo [La Captive]'7

3) Les Ciseleurs de Florence, trio avec choeur et orchestre18

4) Grande Fantaisie fantastique, sur deux themes de M. Berlioz (La Ballade du pecheur et la Chanson de brigands [from Le Retour a la vie]) [Franz Liszt]


'7Frederic Robert (CG II, 191, fn. 1) suggests that La Cap- tive was played here in the version for soprano, piano, and cello. But the printed program suggests that the orchestral version was played; and the reviewer for the Revue et Gazette musicale (1 [7 December 1834], 395) called the work a "chef-d'oeuvre de melodie, de science, et d'in- strumentation" (emphasis mine). '8Though the Opera-Comique had lately refused Berlioz's proposal for a work based on the autobiography of Ben- venuto Cellini, Berlioz "composed the first scene

anyway"--the "Chant des ciseleurs de Florence"-as he tells Ferrand in the letter of 31 August 1834 (CG II, 197). This is the piece for two tenors (Cellini, Francesco), bass (Bernardino), and chorus-Si la terre aux beaux jours se couronne-that became the "motto" for the opera.

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5) Romance avec orchestre [Le Jeune Pdtre Bre- ton, with Cornelie Falcon as soprano soloist] 19

6) Marche du supplice (redemandee) [the fourth movement of the Symphonie fantastique ]20

7) Harold, Symphonie en 4 parties, avec un alto principal [with Chretien Urhan as viola soloist]

According to the review of this concert that appeared in the weekly magazine L'Artiste,21 Mlle Falcon sang an aria by Bellini as an encore. Furthermore, neither Les Ciseleurs de Florence nor Liszt's Grande Fantaisie was performed. The vocal number was canceled because Berlioz could not find a suitable bass; Dr. Veron was presumably unwilling to excuse either Derivis or Levasseur from duty at the Opera.22 Nevertheless, Berlioz received an honorarium of 300 francs from his faithful royal patron.23

Of the letter of 17 "October" itself, which among other things stands as potential testimony to the nature of the Duke's artistic understanding, one can say that it demonstrates remarkable frankness, uncommon self- awareness, ready humor, and graceful famil- iarity with the member of the royal family who was, let us remember, the heir to the throne of France. The self-confidence, determination, and prediction of future success that the letter manifests are found elsewhere in Berlioz's writings. But the sharp contrast between frus- tration and ambition, the detached poet's gift for superimposing gentle self-mockery over heartfelt sincerity, so nicely demonstrated by certain turns of phrase ("fou" and "extravagant" recurring as "extravagance" and "folie," and foreshadowing the reference to the crazy- house, Charenton; "ongles" and "dents" repeated vividly as symbols of struggle and old

age)-these are the elements of Berlioz's finest literary style.

The concert of 23 November was a mixed success. In the Memoires Berlioz tells us that Harold was warmly received, though when the Pilgrims' March was encored, the harpist lost his place, and the conductor directed the players to skip the remaining fifty-odd mea- sures and play the final chord.24 Berlioz alludes to these less than satisfactory proceedings in the subsequent letter he sent to the Duc d'Or- leans, prior to his concert of 8 May 1835. But in March of that year he was planning several concerts, one of which-heretofore unsuspected-was to be given in conjunction with his wife, in early April. In 1834 Harriet had appeared at the Theiatre Nautique as a pan- tomimist. When that theater failed, Berlioz tried to bail out his wife's (and his own) sinking financial ship with a concert joined to a dramatic representation. In this regard, on 24 March 1835, he wrote to the Minister of the Interior, Adolphe Thiers:

[6]

A Monsieur Le ministre de l'interieur

Monsieur le ministre Je me propose de donner le 7 avril prochain, au

theatre Ventadour [,] une representation precede d'un concert. Cette Soiree de Benefice avait ete as- suree ma femme par son engagement avec la direction du theatre Nautique; mais elle en a ete priv~e ainsi que de tous les avantages auxquels elle avait droit d'apres le contrat passe avec M. St Esteben. Je me vois donc dans la necessite de monter moi-mime la representation. Veuillez, monsieur le ministre, m'accorder l'autorisation dont j'ai besoin pour cette circonstance.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre, monsieur le ministre, avec un profond respect [,] votre tres humble serviteur

Hector Berlioz 34 Rue de Londres Paris ce 24 mars 1835

P.S. Tous les arrangements ont ete pris pour la loca- tion de la salle avec M. Pochard [,] l'un des pro- prietaires du theatre.25

A.N., F21 1091.

19This may have been the first performance of the orchestral version; see Ian Kemp in New Berlioz Edition 13 (Kas- sel, 1975), X. 20Berlioz added this item in manuscript to the printed program he sent to the Duke. The symphony had been played with great success two weeks earlier, on 9 November. 21Vol. 8 (November 1834), p. 217. 22See Berlioz's letter to Nathan Bloc of 28 November 1834 (CG II, 206-07). 23The dossier in A. N., 300 AP I, 2389, includes the "mandat de paiement" and a receipt for 300 francs signed by "H. Berlioz-Smithson."

24Cairns, Memoirs, pp. 225-26. In his thoroughly negative review for his father's Revue Musicale 14 [30 November 1834], 382), Edouard Fetis noted only that the Pilgrims' March "was the first time played better than the second." Either Berlioz was exaggerating in the Memoires, or M Fetis fils was not terribly keen of hearing.

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On this coming 7 April I intend to give, at the Thdiatre Ventadour, a dramatic representation preceded by a concert. This benefit performance was guaranteed to my wife by her contract with the di- rectors of the Theatre Nautique. But she has been deprived of this performance, as well as of all the emoluments to which she had a right according to the contract she signed with M. S' Esteben. I therefore find it necessary to mount the performance myself. Would you please be so good, Monsieur le Ministre, as to accord me the authorization I need for this event.

P.S. All the arrangements have been made for the rental of the hall with M. Pochard, one of the owners of the theater.

In his brief reply (see appendix), Thiers denied Berlioz's request because the Salle Ven- tadour had no regular director to oversee the production. Preoccupied with other matters, including his new post as critic for the Journal des Dibats, and no doubt disrupted by the tar- diness of the Minister's response, Berlioz seems to have let the matter drop. He had to make the arrangements for his concert forthcoming on 3 May, one of which was to invite the Duc d'Orleans to attend a second hearing of his music-a hearing Berlioz hoped would prove more satisfactory than the Duke's first had been.

[7]

A son altesse Monseigneur le Duc d'Orleans

Monseigneur Je prends la liberte de mettre sous vos yeux le

programme du concert que je me propose de donner Dimanche prochain. Il me parait plus digne de votre attention que celui auquel vous avez bien voulu assister cet hiver. Si votre altesse R[oya]le pouvait trouver ce jour-la quelques moments de loisir je serais heureux et reconnaissant qu'elle daignat en disposer en ma faveur.

Je suis avec un profond respect, Monseigneur, de votre altesse Royale le tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur

Hector Berlioz 28 avril 1835 Rue de Londres 34

A.N., 300 AP I, 2390.

May I take the liberty of submitting to your gracious notice the program of the concert I intend to give next Sunday. I believe it will be more worthy of your consideration than the one you attended this winter. If Your Royal Highness could find on that day a few moments of leisure, I would be happy and grateful if he would deign to dispose of them in my favor.

This letter is the least remarkable of the group published here, though it makes an interesting "tonal" comparison with the three other letters Berlioz wrote on the same day, including one to the Director of the Conservatoire (Cherubini) and one to the Intendant general de la Liste civile.26 As the rank in officialdom of Berlioz's correspondent rose, so did the formality of Berlioz's prose.

The concert that took place on Sunday, 3 May 1835, featured the Symphonie fantastique followed by its sequel, Le Retour a la vie -the third and last time the Episode de la vie d'un artiste was played in Paris in its entirety during Berlioz's lifetime. (Between the halves of Ber- lioz's composition Franz Liszt played his varia- tions on La Marche d'Alexandre of Mos- cheles.)27 For a subscription to this concert the composer received a payment of 100 francs from the Duc d'Orleans.28 According to Ber- lioz's letter to his father of 6 May 1835, the king had also reserved a loge for the concert, but only the ladies of honor had actually come.29

When he next wrote to the Duc d'Orleans, on 1 December 1836, Berlioz again recalled the unsatisfactory premiere of Harold en Italie, which had been witnessed by His Royal High- ness. Like the other letters to the Duke printed here, this one is in the same carefully articu- lated format (with a large space on the upper half of the page, between the address at the top and the salutation and text towards the bot- tom), and in the same proud, chiseled hand.


25It was common at the time for artists to receive a minute sum for each performance plus the full proceeds of one benefit, usually scheduled by contract.

26CG II, 235-37. 27See Joseph d'Ortigue's review of the concert in the Revue et Gazette musicale 2 (10 May 1835), 159-62. 28The authorization for payment is preserved in A.N., 300 AP I, 2390. The following letter suggests, however, that the Duc d'Orleans did not attend the concert. 29See CG II, 240. However, no record of payment by Louis-Philippe for the box is preserved in the archives of the Maison de France.

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[8]

A son altesse royale Monseigneur le Duc d'Orleans

Monseigneur Je prends la liberte de mettre sous les yeux de

votre Altesse le programme de mon concert de Di- manche prochain. Quand V[otre] A[ltesse] me fit l'honneur, il y a deux ans, de venir entendre ma symphonie d'Harold, cet ouvrage, execute pour la premiere fois, le fut avec tous les desavantages d'une premiere epreuve, la pensee de l'auteur eut ia subir plusieurs alterations graves qu'elle n'a plus ia re- douter aujourd'hui. J'eprouve en outre un desir ex- treme de faire connaitre a votre Altesse ma premiere composition symphonique (L'Episode de la vie d'un artiste); et si les concerts de la cour avaient pu permettre l'execution d'une oeuvre de cette di- mension peut-etre aurais-je sollicite la faveur de l'y faire entendre.

J'ose donc vous prier, Monseigneur, de vouloir bien honorer de votre presence la matinee musicale que je vais donner au conservatoire. Le moment oui mon premier ouvrage dramatique sera monte a l'Op- era n'est pas aujourd'hui fort eloigne, et ce nouveau temoignage de votre haute bienveillance tout en ranimant mon courage, applanirait en outre, par sa grande influence morale sur l'esprit du Directeur, les mille petites difficultes que je dois rencontrer encore avant le jour de la representation.

Je suis avec un profond respect, Monseigneur, de votre altesse royale le tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur

Hector Berlioz Rue de Londres N' 35 F1 Decembre 1836

A.N., 300 AP I, 2390.

May I take the liberty of submitting to Your High- ness's gracious notice the program for my concert of next Sunday. When Your Highness did me the honor, two years ago, of coming to hear my Harold symphony, this work--given for the first time--was performed with all the disadvantages of a trial run. At that time the author's conception was forcibly mutilated, but today it no longer has anything to fear. I feel in addition the strong desire to make known to Your Highness my first symphonic composition (the Episode in the Life of an Artist); and if the concerts at court could have permitted the performance of a work of such dimensions, perhaps I would have sought the favor of having it performed there.

I am therefore sufficiently bold to implore you, Monseigneur, to be good enough to honor by your presence the musical matinee I am giving at the Conservatoire. The moment when my first dramatic work will be mounted at the Opera is now not far in the future, and this new testimony of your esteemed indulgence will, while renewing my courage, in ad-

dition, because of its strong moral influence on the sentiments of the Director [of the Opera], smooth over the thousands of tiny obstacles I am still certain to encounter before the day of the first performance.

This letter shows that the Duc d'Orleans had not as yet heard the Symphonie fantastique in its entirety, though it had been performed at Berlioz's concerts on ten or more occasions between 1830 and 1836. It shows Berlioz still using the symphony's original title, Episode de la vie d'un artiste, though as early as 1832 he had used the longer expression to encompass both the symphony and its sequel. It shows Berlioz's confidence in the many changes he had made in the score of Harold en Italie, changes he also mentions in the

M•moires. 30 It shows that Berlioz gave at least a fleeting thought to having his first symphony performed at the royal court-for throughout his reign Louis-Philippe maintained a regular Musique de chambre of an adequate or at least possible size.31 It suggests that Berlioz might already have discussed his new opera, Ben- venuto Cellini, with the Duc d'Orl6ans, and that the composer was optimistic about having it performed, though it was not to enter into rehearsal until some eighteen months later.

The letter of 1 December 1836 is the last from Berlioz preserved in the archives pertain- ing to the Duc d'Orl6ans, though it is surely not the last he wrote him. Berlioz was presumably the interlocutor for Harriet when she sought the Duke's patronage for the dramatic

30Cairns, Memoirs, p. 225. Many of the fundamental revi- sions that took place over a period of years in the score of Harold en Italie--including the decision to unify the whole symphony with an idle fixe first stated simply by the viola-are discussed in D. Kern Holoman's dissertation (see fn. 1). 31In 1836 the ensemble, under the direction of Ferdinand Paer (who had been director of the Musique particuliere du Roi since the beginning of the Restoration, and who remained in that position until his death in 1839), consisted of thirty-two musicians: sixteen strings, winds in pairs, etc. In Hechingen, on 1 January 1843, with an orchestra of almost exactly this size, Berlioz performed his King Lear Overture, the Pilgrims' March from Harold en Italie, and the Ball Scene from the Symphonie fantastique. See Cairns, Memoirs, p. 281. Louis-Philippe's Musique de chambre employed the finest musicians in the capital (Habeneck, Baillot, Franchomme, Toulou, Brod, Berr, etc.). See A.N., 04 59.

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representation given in Monsieur de Castel- lane's private theater on 7 May 1837; the Duke's financial secretary had found her request for support "very interesting."32 (Har- riet's performance of Jane Shore was sufficiently moving to have remained in the memories of Victor and Adele Hugo seven months later, when Madame Hugo mentions it in a letter to Berlioz of 9 December 1837.)33 And Berlioz presumably wrote to the Duke on his own behalf prior to his concert at the Con- servatoire of 25 November 1838, for on that occasion he received an honorarium from the Duke of 500 francs.34 It was around this time that Berlioz had an audience with the heir to the throne and presented him with a copy of the Requiem, which had just appeared in Oc- tober.3s Berlioz was also invited to the Palais des Tuileries for an audience with the Duc d'Orleans's younger brother, the Duc de Nemours: "It appears," he wrote to his father, "that they really do wish to see me."36 This would have been not only because of the pre- sentation of the Requiem, but also, perhaps, because Benvenuto Cellini had recently opened at the Op6ra, an institution which the royal family had long supported faithfully.

In May 1839, when applying for positions (at the Institute, at the Conservatoire, and at court) newly available due to the death of Paer, Berlioz may well have had further contact with the Duke, who was "full of good will towards me," as he says in the letter to his father of 11 May 1839.37 Prior to his concert of 24 November 1839, which featured the premiere of Romeo et Juliette, Berlioz must again have solicited royal patronage: he received an honorarium of 300 francs from the Duc d'Orl6ans and 200 francs from the Duchesse d'Orldans- the first time the Duke's wife appears as a pa- troness of Berlioz's art.38 Later, in May or June 1842, the Duke recommended Berlioz to the Pr6fet de la Seine for the post of Inspecteur du chant in the primary schools of Paris, a post vacant after the death of Guillaume-Louis Wilhem on 28 April.39

From the letters and documents cited here we now have a better understanding of why in 1842 Berlioz offered the Duc d'Orleans the dedication of the Symphonie funibre et triom- phale, a dedication the Duke accepted shortly before the tragic accident that ended his life on 13 July 1842. This work stands, then, as a commemoration of the anniversary of the July Revolution, but also of the life of one of Ber- lioz's most august patrons. Grateful to Berlioz for having made such a dedication to her hus- band, the Duchesse d'Orl6ans later sent him a valuable bronze statue as a token of her appreciation (at the beginning of July 1843).40


32"I have just found a very interesting request from Mme Berlioz (Miss Smithson) which was addressed to Monseig- neur [the Duke] a few days before his marriage [30 May 1837, to the Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]. Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans, to whom I presented this request, gave 200 francs to assist this terribly unfortunate woman, whose misery is so little deserved. I beg Monseigneur to authorize me to add 300 francs to the Royal Princess's gift, which I will deliver right away, and for which I will be reimbursed later" (A.N., 300 AP I, 2461). A receipt for 500 francs, signed by "Harriet-Berlioz-Smithson" on 29 June 1837, is preserved in the dossier. 33CG II, 389. 34A.N., 300 AP I, 2392. Or perhaps he had not specifically invited the Duc d'Orleans to that concert, and was therefore surprised when he received the honorarium of 500 francs. This would suggest that Berlioz's letter No. 724 (CG II, 652), tentatively dated August 1840 by the editor, might better be dated December 1838. Expressing surprise over the Duke's generous gift, Berlioz speaks here of his "first concert" of the 1838 season-as he does in chapter 49 of the MWmoires (Cairns, p. 247)-because he was giving two in succession. At any rate, the "destinaire inconnue" of letter No. 723 (CG II, 651) is probably the Duke's secretary, M Asseline. 35"The Prince was extremely friendly and hospitable" (CG II, 477). 36Ibid.

37CG II, 553. 38These payment records are preserved in A.N., 300 AP I, 2393. Writing to his father the day after the concert, Berlioz mentions that only the Queen and her two youngest sons, the Duc d'Aumale and the Duc de Montpensier, were in attendance (CG II, 598-99). 39CG II, 723. 40CG III, 106. It seems reasonable to assume that the gift from the Duchess was prompted by the receipt of an advance copy of the score of the "Duc d'Orleans's symphony," as Berlioz thought of it, in November 1843 (CG III, 131). Though the evidence suggests that Schlesinger re- leased the Symphonie funibre in October 1843 (see the score of the symphony edited by Hugh Macdonald, New Berlioz Edition 13 [Kassel, 1967], 93; and CG III, 139), Ber- lioz mentioned to Sigismund Thalberg on 4 June 1843 that the plates had been engraved for some six months (CG III, 97). He might thus have been in a position to obtain an advance copy of the score for the widow of its dedicatee.

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Thus the artistic patronage practiced regularly by the Duc d'Orleans was continued by his widow and, most likely, by other members of the royal family.41 This is further suggested by the last letter of the present collection from the archives of the Orleans family, which Berlioz addressed to the Duchess d'Orleans on 30 November 1846, just before the first performance of La Damnation de Faust:

[91

A son altesse Royale Madame La Duchesse d'Orleans

Madame Permettez-moi de mettre sous les yeux de votre

Altesse le livret de mon nouvel ouvrage: La Damna- tion de Faust, qui sera execute sous ma direction au th~etre de l'opera-comique Dimanche prochain 'a 1 h:1/2. C'est un veritable opera sans costumes ni decors. L'entreprise est presque temeraire, et l'auteur serait bien heureux d'obtenir le patronage bien- veillant et eclaire de votre altesse Royale. Puis-je esperer, madame la Duchesse [,] que vous voudrez bien honorer cette solennite musicale de votre presence.

Je suis avec un profond respect [,] Madame [,] de votre altesse Royale le tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur

Hector Berlioz 41 Rue de Provence 30 nov[embre] 184642

A.N., 300 AP I, 2583.

Allow me to submit to Your Highness's gracious notice the libretto of my new work, La Damnation de Faust, which will be performed under my direction at the Theatre de l'Opera-Comique next Sunday at 1:30. It is a veritable opera without costumes and sets. The enterprise is practically reckless, and the author would be very happy to have the indulgent and enlightened patronage of Your Royal Highness. May I hope, Madame la Duchesse, that you will wish to honor this musical solemnity with your presence.

This letter is quite similar to those Berlioz sent earlier to the King and Queen,43 and no doubt to the one he sent to the Duc de Montpensier.44 Though it provides us with no information about the work, it does give us another desig- nation of its genre -"viritable opera sans costumes ni decors"-which reinforces Julian Rushton's assertion that the work was un- doubtedly always intended for concert performance.4S

After the performance of La Damnation de Faust Berlioz was to spend little time in Paris for the next several years. In 1847 he made his first trip to Russia, and from November of 1847 to July of 1848 he was in London. There, feeling as though he were standing at the edge of the abyss, jolted externally by revolution on the continent, and soon to be shaken internally by the death of his father, Berlioz began his Mdmoires, and entered a new, more retrospec- tive phase of his career. Nevertheless, the will to survive led him to begin the rounds with yet another government bureaucracy. As soon as he returned to Paris he entreated with the Ministry of the Interior to preserve his post as librarian at the Conservatoire, or to use his ser- vices as a professor of orchestration.46

Subsequent volumes of Berlioz's Corre- spondance gVndrale (which at this writing has reached the year 1850) will reveal, I believe, on the basis of the rich government archives whose treasures have yet fully to be revealed, that Berlioz's contacts with the bastions of officialdom were more frequent and significant than has heretofore been assumed.47 Fur-

41Berlioz invited Queen Marie-Amblie to the third concert he gave at the Cirque Olympique in March 1845 (CG III, 234); in April 1845 he received a payment of 100 francs from the Maison du Roi for ten tickets to his musical matinee of 16 March or 6 April (A.N., 04 2203). Earlier, in the spring of 1844, he dedicated the Voyage musical en Al- lemagne et en Italie to the Duc de Montpensier, who is known to have attended Berlioz's concert at the Hippo- drome on 24 July 1846 (CG III, 357; see also p. 368) 42The 200 francs that Berlioz received on this occasion came from funds alloted to the Prince Royal, Louis- Philippe-Albert d'Orl6ans, Comte de Paris-the Duchesse d'Orleans's first son and Louis-Philippe's first grandchild.

43CG III, 373-74. 44Not preserved. But see CG III, 373: the Duke and his wife were scheduled to attend the performance. 45Julian Rushton, "The Genesis of Berlioz's 'La Damnation de Faust'," Music and Letters 56 (1975), 131. 46See CG III, 560-61. 47I have been able to find unpublished letters of Berlioz in the archives of the Ministry of Agriculture an, Commerce (A.N., series F12) as well as in the already much-combed archives of the Department of Fine Arts (series F21). These, addressed to the Emperor Napoleon III, the Minister of State, and the Minister of Agriculture, show Berlioz in regular communication with the political powers of the Sec- ond Empire. 48See Cairns, Memoires, p. 486, fn. 12. 49CG II, 727. 50The Social History of Art (New York, 1958), IV, 14. 51Cairns, Memoires, p. 471. See also pp. 474-76. 52Ibid., p. 476.

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thermore, it would seem, to paraphrase Ber- lioz's own description of an encounter with Napoleon III, that the temperature of these contacts was by no means always twenty-five degrees below zero.48

The Vicomte Sosthene de La Roche- foucauld, removed from power after a three-day revolution, had been in a position to assist materially Berlioz's undertakings and had formed, by 1830, a positive opinion of the young composer who was to win the Prix de Rome in that year. More importantly, the Duc d'Orleans, tragically killed in a freak accident, was a benefactor whose further aid might sig- nificantly have altered the direction of Ber- lioz's career. If he had come to the throne, he might have provided for the composer at least something of what Ludwig II of Bavaria, in a later day, would provide for Richard Wagner. Perhaps this is part of the meaning of the ellip- sis points that trail off after Berlioz's mention of the Duke's death in a letter to his brother- in-law, Marc Suat: "Je ne puis vous dire tout le chagrin que cet affreux evenement m'a

donne.... ."49 When he listed all the forces of opposition

that he had encountered during his maturity, Berlioz did not mention anyone in the upper echelons of the French government. The presence of cultured rulers and sophisticated officials (the leading ministers of the period,

Adolphe Thiers and Francois Guizot, were both distinguished historians) lent the Orleanist system, particularly when compared to that of the ensuing Second Empire, an intellectual tone of some depth. "The literary politicians and the political litterateurs of the July Monar- chy," writes Arnold Hauser, "are the last de- scendants of the 'philosophes' of the eigh- teenth century."so Berlioz himself recalled fondly the days in which the "princes of the house of Orleans and the Queen herself" took an interest in music."' Had he been an expo- nent of chamber music, the king's Musique de chambre, as letter 8 above indirectly suggests, might have welcomed his creations.

By monarchs, nobles, and high government ministers Berlioz was sometimes warmly received. That he did not aspire to high government office, however-and in this respect Ber- lioz differed from many contemporary artists, who often sought to play official roles in society-can be inferred from the anecdote he tells in the Postscript of the Memoires. During a conversation about the dissatisfaction everyone habitually feels with his lot in life, a department head from the Ministry of the Inte- rior declared that on the contrary, he would rather be what he was than anything else. "How odd," observed Berlioz. "I am quite the opposite. I would rather be anything If than what you are."52


APPENDIX

The Minister of Commerce and Public Works, Adolphe Thiers, to Berlioz [2]5 October 1833

J'ai requ la lettre en date du 24 de ce mois, par laquelle vous sollicitez l'autorisation de donner au

Theitre Italien, dans le courant de la premiere quin- zaine de novembre, un grand concert preced& du drame d'Antony et du second acte de l'Hamlet de Shakespeare.

Puisque vous m'annoncez [que] vous &tes entendu a cet egard avec M. Robert, directeur du Theiatre Italien, je vous accorde volontiers l'autorisation necessaire, sous la condition de faire connaitre a M. le Prefet de police le jour que vous aurez choisi pour la dite representation et de vous conformer 'a

tout ce que ce Magistrat croit devoir vous prescrire dans l'interet de l'ordre et de la sirete publique.

A.N., F21 1113 [draft].

I have received the letter dated the 24th of this month in which you seek permission to give, at the Theatre Italien, during the first two weeks of November, a grand concert preceded by the drama Antony [Dumas] and by the second act of Shake- speare's Hamlet.

Since you indicate that you have made an agree- ment in this regard with M. Robert, the Director of the Theatre Italien, I am happy to grant you the necessary permission, provided that you inform the Prefect of Police of the date you choose for this performance, and that you conform to everything that magistrate stipulates in the interest of order and public safety.

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II

Harriet Smithson to the Duc d'Orleans 28 March 1833

Miss Smithson has the honour to enclose an an- nouncement for the Representation for her benefit which after repeated delays, occasioned by her unfortunate accident and from the effects of which she is still confined to her bed, is definitively fixed for Tuesday next.

Miss Smithson has so often experienced the kindness of the Duke of Orleans, that she ventures to hope that His Royal Highness will by honouring the Theater with his presence on this occasion en- sure the brilliant success of the Representation.

Rue Castiglione 10 28 March 1833 [no signature]

A.N., AP I, 2388. [The performance given by the English troupe at the Salle Favart brought 200 francs from the Duc d'Orleans.]

III

Harriet Smithson to the Duc d'Orleans 4 July 1833

Monseigneur Un malheur m'est arrive qui a interrompu ma

carriere dramatique [;] je me suis casse la jambe, et depuis trois mois a peine ai-je pu me soulever sur mon lit.

Maintenant je voudrais aller achever ma guerison a Londres, mais absente du theatre qui faisait toute ma recourse [sic] je me trouve a Paris dans un de- nouement absolu: Monseigneur [,] aidez-moi.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre de Votre Altesse Royale la tres humble et tres obeissante servante.

4 Juillet 1833 Harriet C. Smithson

A.N., 300 AP I, 2452.

I have suffered an untoward accident which has in- terrupted my dramatic career. I broke my leg, and for three months I have hardly been able to sit up in bed.

Now I would like to complete my recovery in London, but since I have been absent from the theater, which is my only source of income, I find myself in Paris in absolute destitution. Monseigneur, please help me.

[The dossier indicates that Harriet was awarded the sum of 200 francs.]

IV

Franz Liszt to the Duc d'Orleans 6 April 1835

Monseigneur, Je viens reclamer de votre bienveillance l'accep-

tation d'une loge reservee au concert que je me propose de donner, Jeudi prochain (au profit d'une famille pauvre.) [sic]

Permettez-moi d'esperer que vous voudrez bien accueillir favorablement ma demande.

J'ai l'honneur d'etre avec un profond respect, Monseigneur, votre tres humble et obeissant serviteur

F. Liszt Lundi 6 avril 1835 61 rue de Provence

A.N., 300 AP I, 2390.

Would you be so good as to accept a reserved box for the concert I intend to give next Thursday (for the benefit of a poor family)?

Permit me to hope that you will receive my request with favor.

V

The Minister of the Interior, Adolphe Thiers, to Berlioz 6 April 1835

Monsieur, J'ai requ la lettre par laquelle vous temoignez le

desir de donner une representation dramatique, preced~e d'un concert, dans la salle Ventadour, ou votre femme devait en obtenir une lorsque M. St. Esteben etait directeur du Theatre Nautique. Je ne puis au- toriser une semblable representation dans une salle qui n'est plus exploitee par un entrepreneur respons- able et je vous en temoigne mes regrets. Dans le cas oP votre demande se reduirait a un concert, ce serait a M. le Prefet de Police que vous devriez l'adresser.

Agreez, etc. Le Ministre, etc.

A.N., F21 1091 [draft].

I have received the letter in which you express the desire to give a dramatic representation preceded by a concert in the Salle Ventadour, where your wife was to give a performance while M. St. Esteben was the Director of the Theatre Nautique. I cannot authorize such a performance in a theater which is no longer operated by a responsible entrepreneur, and I am very sorry to have to say so. Should you desire permission to give only a concert, you must address yourself to the Prefect of Police.

[After several years of deliberations, St. Esteben had been granted a nine-year privilege to give "nautical and other sorts of pantomime, mixed with dancing, in the Salle Ventadour," on 12 August 1833. But the public did not flock to the theater, and Edmond Cave, Director of Fine Arts for the govenment at the time, took charge of its affairs on 14 February 1835.]

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