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‘Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium …’ Hector Berlioz never did anything by halves, and in his Symphonie fantastique a doomed love story becomes a no-holds-barred phantasmagoria: a fabulous, wide-eyed fantasy of severed heads, demonic orgies and unrequited love, written in the grip of an obsession and scored in technicolour for a supersized orchestra. Ryan Bancroft unleashes the full power of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ National Orchestra of Wales, and goes even larger with the world premiere of Gavin Higgins’s new Concerto Grosso celebrating the British brass band tradition. A full symphony orchestra collides with the multi-award winning Tredegar Band (stars of the movie Pride) – and sends sparks hurtling.

Image: Tredegar Band