Oracle with the BBC Concert Orchestra
Conducted by Jérôme Kuhn in its UK premiere, David Buckley’s powerful new opera is a very modern myth indeed, told in music that haunts the imagination.
The BBC Concert Orchestra and its Associate Conductor Jérôme Kuhn bring David Buckley’s powerful new opera, Oracle, to the UK for the first time, and mythologically-inspired curtain-raisers by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Dobrinka Tabakova.
‘What is invoked cannot be controlled’: divine ambiguity collides with algorithmic certainty in Oracle, Buckley’s dazzling operatic satire of AI (and what lies beyond). Bees buzz, wasps sting, but the hive mind of AI has its own agenda – weaving a future that only the boldest would dare to predict.
What if there’s more to consciousness than algorithms and neural networks? What if the Greek gods, silent for centuries, are watching the tech bros and waiting for their moment to speak again?
These are the questions asked by Oracle, a new opera from composer David Buckley and writer Stephen Plaice.
The setting is the Californian tech industry, the story, an everyday 21st-century tale of self-proclaimed genius spiralling terrifyingly out of control.
Introduced tonight by the composer himself, and conducted by Jérôme Kuhn, who gave the world premiere of Oracle just last year, this UK premiere concert staging features the BBC Concert Orchestra and specially conceived visuals.
Performers
BBC Concert Orchestra
Jérôme Kuhn conductor
Repertoire
Programme includes: -
Dobrinka Tabakova: Orpheus' Comet
Vaughan Williams: The Wasps, Aristophanic Suite
David Buckley: Oracle - chamber opera in 1 act
Need to know
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
03 Oct 2026, 7.30pm
Run time
2 hours (approx)
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Standard entry
from £17 + £4 booking fee
Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
Concessions
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Multi-buy Autumn/Winter 26/27 discount
3 – 4 events: 10% discount
5 – 7 events: 15% discount
8 – 10 events: 20% discount
11 – 14 events: 25% discount
15+ events: 30% discount
Discounts apply to selected events, September 2026 – January 2027 inclusive. Offer can’t be combined with the Spring/Summer 2026 multi-buy.
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For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
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The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
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