Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un artiste … en cinq parties Op. 14, is a programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December 1830.
Hector Berlioz by Émile Signol, 1832
George Clint's portrait of Harriett Smithson, the inspiration for the symphony
Title page of the manuscript score
The opening page of Berlioz's autograph manuscript score
Louis-Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.
Louis Berlioz, the composer's father c. 1840
The Opéra, in the Rue le Peletier, Paris, c. 1821
Harriet Smithson as Ophelia
Marie ("Camille") Moke, later Pleyel