Editing Hector Berlioz (section)

===1824–1830: Conservatoire student===
In 1824 Berlioz composed a ''[[Messe solennelle (Berlioz)|Messe solennelle]]''. It was performed twice, after which he suppressed the score, which was thought lost until a copy was discovered in 1991. During 1825 and 1826 he wrote his first opera, ''Les Francs-juges'', which was not performed and survives only in fragments, the best known of which is the overture.<ref>Cairns (2000), p. 114</ref> In later works he reused parts of the score, such as the "March of the Guards", which he incorporated four years later in the ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]'' as the "March to the Scaffold".<ref name=grove/>

[[File:Harriet-Smithson-as-Ophelia.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=young white woman in Shakespearean costume, with flowing gown and enormous, flowing kerchief, gazing to her left and striking a romantic pose|[[Harriet Smithson]] as Ophelia]]
In August 1826 Berlioz was admitted as a student to the Conservatoire, studying composition under Le Sueur and counterpoint and fugue with [[Anton Reicha]]. In the same year he made the first of four attempts to win France's premier music prize, the [[Prix de Rome]], and was eliminated in the first round. The following year, to earn some money, he joined the chorus at the [[Théâtre des Nouveautés#1827–1832 (Salle de la Bourse)|Théâtre des Nouveautés]].<ref name=bxv/> He competed again for the Prix de Rome, submitting the first of his [[Prix de Rome cantatas (Berlioz)|Prix cantatas]], ''La Mort d'Orphée'', in July. Later that year he attended productions of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' at the [[Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe|Théâtre de l'Odéon]] given by [[Charles Kemble]]'s touring company. Although at the time Berlioz spoke hardly any English, he was overwhelmed by the plays – the start of a lifelong passion for Shakespeare. He also conceived a passion for Kemble's leading lady, [[Harriet Smithson]] – his biographer [[Hugh Macdonald (musicologist)|Hugh Macdonald]] calls it "emotional derangement" – and obsessively pursued her, without success, for several years. She refused even to meet him.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=grove/>

The first concert of Berlioz's music took place in May 1828, when his friend Nathan Bloc conducted the premieres of the overtures ''Les Francs-juges'' and ''Waverley'' and other works. The hall was far from full, and Berlioz lost money.{{refn|Louis Berlioz had relented enough to send his son a substantial sum to cover some of the expenses.<ref>Cairns (2000), p. 276</ref>|group= n}} Nevertheless, he was greatly encouraged by the vociferous approval of his performers, and the applause from musicians in the audience, including his Conservatoire professors, the directors of the Opéra and Opéra-Comique, and the composers [[Daniel Auber|Auber]] and [[Ferdinand Hérold|Hérold]].<ref>Holoman (1989), p. 51; and Cairns (2000), pp. 277 and 279</ref>

Berlioz's fascination with Shakespeare's plays prompted him to start learning English during 1828, so that he could read them in the original. At around the same time he encountered two further creative inspirations: [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]. He heard Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|third]], [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|fifth]] and [[Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)|seventh]] symphonies performed at the Conservatoire,{{refn|The Conservatoire concerts were conducted by [[François Habeneck]], whom Berlioz honoured for introducing the Beethoven symphonies to French audiences, but with whom he later fell out over Habeneck's conducting of works by Berlioz.<ref>Berlioz, p. 104; Cairns (2000), p. 263; and Holoman (1989), pp. 185–186</ref>|group= n}} and read Goethe's ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'' in [[Gérard de Nerval]]'s translation.<ref name=bxv/> Beethoven became both an ideal and an obstacle for Berlioz – an inspiring predecessor but a daunting one.<ref>Bonds, p. 419</ref> Goethe's work was the basis of ''Huit scènes de Faust'' (Berlioz's [[Opus number|Opus]] 1), which premiered the following year and was reworked and expanded much later as ''[[La Damnation de Faust]]''.<ref>Holoman (1989), p. 305</ref>