Sakari Oramo conducts Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique

Swirling ball scene, grotesque witches dance, brutal execution and fatal attraction. Sakari Oramo pairs Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with the equally fervid imagination of Alban Berg. “Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium…” Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is the sonic head-trip to end them all: a high-romantic shape-shifting spectacle for unprecedented musical forces. It’s perfect for a conductor and orchestra with the special rapport of Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. But that’s just the half of it, in a concert that begins with the suite that Berg created from his unfinished (and dangerously erotic) opera Lulu. “I have never wished to seem any different from what they call me”, sings Berg’s deadly heroine, and Anu Komsi brings her to life tonight. Silken harmonies, sensual climaxes, musical witchcraft. You might want to hold on to your seats… Programme Alban Berg Lulu-Suite Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantasique Performers Sakari Oramo conductor Anu Komsi soprano BBC Symphony Orchestra