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Fantastic Symphony

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Rustioni

Daniele Rustioni looking at the camera, with circular orange swirls around him

Severed heads, demonic orgies and obsessive love. Daniele Rustioni pairs Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with the equally colourful imaginations of Poulenc and Camile Pépin. 

‘Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium…’ Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is the musical head-trip to end all head-trips, a no-holds barred phantasmagoria for an enormous orchestra. It’s perfect for a conductor with the dramatic flair and sheer energy of Daniele Rustioni.

And that’s not even the half of it, in a concert that features the massed voices of the BBC Symphony Chorus in Poulenc’s barnstorming Gloria, and which opens with Camille Pépin’s visionary, ravishing Les eaux celestes. Sky gods, lovers, a celestial river and the cowherd of the stars: it’s hard to imagine a better counterpart for Berlioz’s spectacular sonic imagination than the UK premiere of this symphonic retelling of an ancient Chinese myth. Prepare to be transported…

The end time for this performance will be added closer to the performance date

Produced by BBC Symphony Orchestra

£10

Aged 14–25? Join Young Barbican for free.

Subject to availability

50% off tickets for under-18s.

Wheelchair spaces and free companion seats may now be booked online. 

Please select the relevant preferences on the access registration page during your booking so we can provide you with the correct information and discounts.

Booking a wheelchair space: Select a seat displaying the wheelchair user icon and then select wheelchair user ticket type. The ticket will be priced at the lowest price for that event. If you need an essential companion, please select the click the E icon next to the wheelchair space you have selected. 

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20% discount for groups of 10+. Contact [email protected] to make a group booking.

Subject to availability.

*Excludes £4 booking fee

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