Directing
The World's Greatest Classical Music Festival. The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in recent years has explored an innovative series of Proms around the UK with concerts in all four nations. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience, which remains true to founder-conductor Henry Wood’s original vision in 1895. Whether you are a classical connoisseur or think classical music isn’t for you, there is something for everyone in the eight-week stretch of concerts.
Doctor Who fan favourite Catherine Tate presents a concert of music, monsters and mayhem featuring soundtracks from the iconic series, a specially shot feature for the Fifteenth Doctor and a host of scary aliens as they thrill a packed audience at London's Royal Albert Hall. In a concert like no other in time and space, the much-loved music, performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, is accompanied by specially edited sequences from the series.
A fearless award-winning play about two best friends at the 2017 Notting Hill Carnival, seeking joy and resistance in a society where women’s bodies are frequently under threat.
Luminous choral music on the theme of peace, performed by one of the world’s finest choirs and recorded at Peterborough Cathedral. A hymn to tranquillity, the concert features music from across nine centuries, from the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen to Anna Clyne with a new work for choir and violin. There are also sumptuous works by John Taverner, Will Todd and Arvo Pärt in his 90th birthday year. The Sixteen is led by conductor Harry Christophers. Presented by Hannah French.
The first installment of Phyllida Lloyd’s groundbreaking all-female Shakespeare Trilogy sees Harriet Walter take on the role of Brutus, who wrestles with his moral conscience over the murder of Julius Caesar.
Doctor Who returns to the Proms to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popular BBC series. As well as showcasing Murray Gold’s music from the past eight years, the concert also journeys back to the early days of Doctor Who and the groundbreaking work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Featuring special guests from the series, big screens and a host of monsters ready to invade the Royal Albert Hall, this is not the year to be exterminated!
English National Opera’s sparkling production of the much-loved Gilbert and Sullivan classic, set in the Tower of London of the 1950s.
Hamlet captures the Almeida Theatre's 2017 acclaimed production of William Shakespeare's great play, recorded as-live in its West End transfer on the stage of London's Harold Pinter Theatre. Robert Icke's innovative modern-dress production, featuring Andrew Scott, Juliet Stevenson, Angus Wright and Jessica Brown Findlay, has been widely acclaimed as a dazzlingly intelligent, forcefully contemporary staging. The Evening Standard hailed Andrew Scott's 'career-defining performance... he makes the most famous speeches feel fresh and unpredictable.'
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Witness an epic, heart-rending journey of the soul, as Opera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Jazzart Dance Theatre and Cape Town Opera combine for a powerful performance. Filmed at Leeds Grand Theatre, this unforgettable contemporary dance staging of Mozart’s great choral lament is choreographed by Dane Hurst and conducted by Garry Walker. Featuring soloists Ellie Laugharne, Ann Taylor, Mongezi Mosoaka and Simon Shibambu alongside the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North.
A selection of classical favourites with a strong flavour of time and space. Join Freema Agyeman (aka Martha Jones), and others from the Doctor Who cast, for an intergalactic musical adventure - with a little help from Daleks, Cybermen and other aliens from the series!
For the second time since its revival, Doctor Who's music will be enjoyed by numerous fans since the previous Proms in 2008. Everyone's favourite monsters are here! Nothing else to do but hang on for the ride, and see where you end up.
A penniless poet, a young seamstress, and a lost key: Puccinis passionate opera tells the story of a captivating romance set against the background of 19th-century Paris. The luscious score, with its soaring melodies and rich orchestration, brings to life the relationships between Rodolfo, Mimì and their friends, the painter Marcello and fiery Musetta. Acclaimed director Richard Jones stages a fresh and intelligent new production of one of the worlds most popular operas, conducted by The Royal Operas Music Director, Antonio Pappano.
Experience the classic sci-fi film The Matrix like never before in this spectacular live show brought to life through mind-expanding dance and the latest immersive design.
Simon Russell Beale presents a special concert for Easter from LSO St Luke's in London, performed by the award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by founder Harry Christophers. The music takes us on a journey of over six hundred years, from haunting plainchant through to the celebrated music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Highlights include Palestrina's motet Assumpta Est Maria, and Allegri's Miserere.
or twenty years the Berliner Philharmoniker has celebrated its 1882 founding with a concert at a major European venue, and the 2011 event takes place at the magnificent Teatro Real in Madrid. The renowned orchestra, under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, performs JoaquĂn Rodrigo’s beloved Concierto de Aranjuez, Emmanuel Chabrier’s exuberant España, and Sergey Rachmaninov’s dramatic Second Symphony. It is joined for the Concierto by the famous flamenco guitarist Cañizares, whose virtuosity and sensitivity are given full opportunity to shine in this multi-faceted and subtle work.
The French have occupied Sicily, and Hélène is held hostage by Montfort, the French governor, who has had her brother executed. She turns to the partisan Jean Procida and the rebellious patriot Henri in her bid for vengeance. Les Vêpres siciliennes is one of Verdi’s lesser-known mature operas, but was vital to his development as a composer. It was created for the Paris Opéra in 1855, providing Verdi with an opportunity to embrace the elaborate style and traditions of French grand opera. First seen at the Royal Opera House in 2013, this staging of Verdi's rarely-performed opera Les Vêpres siciliennes – directed by Stefan Herheim and conducted by The Royal Opera’s Music Director, Verdi specialist Sir Antonio Pappano – went on to win the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.
Part of BBC Four's Black Music Legends of the 1980s, this documentary explores how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionized the perception of black music in the 1980s with worldwide hits such as "1999," "Kiss," "Raspberry Beret" and "Alphabet Street." He became a global sensation with the release of the Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical movie "Purple Rain" in 1984, embarking on an incredible journey of musical self-discovery that continues to this day.
Mike Bartlett's play Albion, directed for the stage by Rupert Goold, is a tragicomic drama about national identity, family, passion and the disappointment of personal dreams. Filmed at London’s Almeida Theatre, the play is set in the garden of an English country house. The house has been bought by successful businesswoman Audrey Walters, who intends to restore the ruined garden to its former glory and create a memorial to the son she recently lost in a foreign war.
