Addition of lithium trimethylsilylacetylide (II) to quinuclidin-3-one (I) in THF at -70 C afforded the O-silylated ethynyl quinuclidinol (III). Subsequent palladium-catalyzed coupling of (III) with 4,4'-dibromobenzophenone (IV) gave adduct (V). Finally, the Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of (V) in concentrated H2SO4 furnished the title unsaturated ketone.