50th Gala Concert SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde

Show & Culture

To love is to be vulnerable. Whatever you love, your heart will certainly be hurt and perhaps even broken. These are words of warning from C. S. Lewis that Hector Berlioz would certainly not contest. In his early twenties, Berlioz discovered that love can be both tender and passionate, as well as all-consuming and destructive. The Symphonie fantastique is inspired by an actress with whom Berlioz had fallen madly in love. From frenzied passion and volcanic joy to the nightmarish ingredients of jealousy, murder, and the supernatural, Berlioz skilfully weaves the main musical theme throughout this fantastic tale.