On Sunday, June 1st, the Brooklyn Museum will host a screening of the independently-produced Last Night's Symphonie with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra performing its soundtrack live in concert. That soundtrack happens to be French romantic composer Hector Berlioz's most famous work, Symphonie Fantastique. The film was directed by New York resident Adam Grannick and tells the tale of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Hector and Harriet: two young and star-crossed New Yorkers who meet at a party and embark on a night of wild and hazy urban adventuring (and possibly sex!). You can check out the film's trailer below:
The movie's plot ought to resonate with anyone who's experienced a night of flirtation, inebriation, and inter-borough transportation, but Berlioz's symphony is meant to be the night's main focus of attention. Along with its protagonist having the same first name as the composer, the film itself contains very little additional sound and was conceived as a visual compliment to Berlioz's 184-year-old masterpiece. The symphony itself was inspired by the scandalous 19th Century tell-all memoir Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, and it seems as if Last Night's Symphony's aim is to offer us the same sort of sad and mentally-unhinged tale that inspired Berlioz in the first place.
The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra will also perform selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and premiere new music from Brooklyn's own wunderkind composer Eli Greenhoe.
Brookyln Museum // Sunday June 1st, 2 p.m. // Tickets $10-18
