Basil Twist's SYMPhonie FANtastique - Musical Puppetry Pastiche Sinks to the Bottom of the Sea

SYMPhonie FANtastique is a unique melding of classical music with splashes of avant garde artistry  bathed in mystery.   Perhaps the Dream Music Puppetry is best described as a hallucinatory vision 20,000 leagues under the sea.  Basil Twist is the creator, artistic director and designer for the 1,000 gallon water tank which contained 5 hidden underwater puppeteers.  Twist, a recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Grant is an American performance artist and puppeteer.   He's an int'l collaborator for theater, dance, opera and film.  The lively pianist for the evening was Christopher O'Riley, the NPR host "From the Top".  O'Riley bore an uncanny resemblance to Robin Williams.  O'Riley played all 5 movements of Hector Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastic" (1830).  Berlioz's composition is the story of a gifted, imaginative artist who takes his own life suffering from despair stemming from unrequited love.  I'm quite sure the swirling fabrics, abstract visuals, lighting, glitter & bubbling formations did not comprise story telling.  However, I was drawn by O'Riley's animated antics at the keyboard and the colorful lighting that showcased his playing.  I viewed the hallucinatory puppetry stemmed from the pianist's imagination.  Leonard Bernstein called Berlioz's composition the 1st musical foray into psychedelia hallucination.  It's been suggested Berlioz composed "Symphony Fantastic" while under the influence of opium.  My mind meandered midway into the 3rd movement.  I wondered would the "Dream Music Puppetry Program" appear more enthralling while under the influence of mind-altering substance.  The graceful formations and glitzy affects lost their luster under superfluous subterfuge awash in flotsam & jetsam.