Six Sensational Brisbane Date Nights with Queensland Symphony Orchestra

​It’s no great revelation that love and music are a match made in heaven; perfectly paired to produce captivating works of art for centuries (if not millennia). Great composers, musicians, artists, writers, choreographers, poets and beyond have used the ups and downs of their hearts as inspiration for their work, which has then gone on to influence the world. From Puccini and Rachmaninov to Taylor Swift and Lionel Richie; wherever you find music, you will find L-O-V-E, LOVE!

So, create some lifelong memories by taking a trip into the souls (and hearts) of some of the world’s greatest musical minds with Six Sensational Date Nights with Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Date night: Friday 8 March at 7.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 9 March 1.30pm

When you think of love and drama, nothing comes to mind faster than QSO’s Opera Gala. Great epics of love, betrayal, loss and life have transfixed audiences for centuries, and QSO are highlighting one of the greatest, and most romantic of the Opera composers, Giacomo Puccini. While you may not have heard of Puccini, you’ll certainly have heard of Madame Butterfly and La bohème, (the Opera that inspired the hit musical, Rent). An Italian composer whose own tumultuous and dramatic love life (which included the scandalous fleeing from his hometown with a married woman) inspired him to write some of the most famous operas of all time.

At QSO’s Opera Gala, we are joined on stage by operatic singing sensations Sae-Kyung Rim, Kang Wang, Phillip Rhodes and the Voices of Birralee Choir to perform some of Puccini’s best works. Music from Tosca, La bohème, Madame Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, and Turandot will fill you with the peaks and valleys of love and longing that only the Opera can bring. One thing is for certain, after you've experienced the enthralling drama of Puccini’s arias, it will make fighting over the dishes seem pretty trivial.

Friday 15 March at 7.30pm

Bond, James Bond is THE original gentleman spy. A fella with more style, charm, and skill than humanly conceivable; Bond has men wishing they were him, and women (and some men) wishing they were with him. So, for all the fans of 007, make sure to join QSO for a date night at the movies with Casino Royale in Concert. Watch the full film on the big screen as it’s accompanied by a live symphony orchestra performing the action-packed score in real time.

Experience all the passion, action and suspense of the film, set to the raw power of a live symphony orchestra, taking this date night at the movies to the next level. We encourage couples to dress in style, with handsome tuxes, deadly dresses, or any outfit that screams “International Super Spy!”. Make a night of it and head around to Bacchus Restaurant for dinner and use your ticket to access a top-secret cocktail list, shaken (not stirred). For a date night like no other, book your tickets to Casino Royale in Concert, before all the other dapper Brissy couples do!

Date night: Saturday 6 April at 7.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 6 April at 1.30pm

Is your sweetheart the Danny Zuko to your Sandra Dee? Does your neon light shine for them? Or are they someone you just want to get Physical with? Whatever the occasion of your date night in Brisbane, join QSO for Hopelessly Devoted: A Celebration of Olivia Newton-John!

Stars of the stage and screen David Campbell, Jess Hitchcock, Georgine Hopson and Christie Whelan Browne alongside QSO to serenade you with Olivia's beloved hits. Enjoy orchestral arrangements of your favourite songs, including music from Grease, Xanadu and many more of Olivia's pop bops. You can expect love song after love song with hits such as Honestly Love You, Make a Move on Me, Magic, You’re the One that I Want and more! Join us for a night of fabulous fun as we celebrate the original Pink Lady and Aussie Pop Princess, Dame Olivia Newton-John.

Date night: Friday 22 March at 7.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 23 March at 3pm

While famously known as one of William Shakespeare’s comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s story centres around the feuding King and Queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania, and how their tiff impacts four lovers lost in the forest. QSO’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream invites you to an intimate evening of music and magic at the QSO Studio in the ABC Building, South Bank. Pair your date at QSO HQ with a romantic walk through the South Bank Parklands before and after the concert, just watch out for mischievous fairies.

This one-hour concert is a perfect date night accompaniment and introduction to orchestral music, full of light and fluffy musical treats. The Overture from Rossini’s operatic comedy La Scala di Seta introduces the evening, followed by the Oberon of classical music, Beethoven’s light-hearted and charming 8th Symphony. Wrapping up the evening is Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, complete with the famous Wedding March movement – yes, THAT Wedding March. We told you this would be a romantic concert!

Matinee: Friday 12 April at 11.30am
Date night: Saturday 13 April at 7.30pm

Next up on our list of Six Sensational Brisbane Date Nights with Queensland Symphony Orchestra is a composer who needs no introduction. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to do things in halves, Triumphant Tchaikovsky is the perfect way to dive heart-first into the power of classical music. Benjamin Britten’s dramatic Sinfonia da Requiem introduces the evening, written as a reaction to the darkening political developments that led to World War II.

To bring the mood back up, Tchaikovsky’s iconic Symphony No. 5 will wrap up the night by dancing with themes of Fate and victory through strife. The second movement of this symphony was also famously adapted for Frank Sinatra’s 1939 love song, Moon Love. Insert "awwww" here.

Triumphant Tchaikovsky is the perfect date night concert for a couple looking to expand their horizons and share a powerful new experience. And for couples who are already fans of classical music, then we assume you’ve already booked your tickets, because this is THE orchestral event of the year.