BBC Proms 2016

[alison]

Anybody been to any of these yet?  (I haven't)

[Sim]

No, but I have been watching, listening and enjoying!

[bangorballetboy]

I have been staying incognito

[Jan McNulty]

I enjoyed the Strictly prom on TV.  Gavin is a terrific conductor (IMHO)!

[alison]

Isn't it weird suddenly hearing bits of La Fille Mal Gardée when you're listening to The Barber of Seville??   It took me a minute or two to realise what was odd about it!

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Dh and I find ourselves staying in Sidcup on Friday night prior to collecting dd from a summer school & rather than spending the evening in the bar of the premier inn we are thinking about ticking something off our bucket list & going to a prom.

 

His bad back means we will have to sit but I'm surprised how reasonable ticket prices are in the balcony.

[Ellie]

I'm not sure if this has been covered on here already, but here is a link from the Telegraph regarding the televised proms.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/07/13/the-10-best-proms-on-tv/

[alison]

His bad back means we will have to sit but I'm surprised how reasonable ticket prices are in the balcony.

 

Are there tickets still available?  Mind you, if worst comes to the worst, you could try promming in the gallery, where people don't, by and large, stand up.  There are reserved chairs available for people with mobility issues etc. - I'm not quite sure what the rules are for getting those these days, though.  I think you have to ask the steward in the queue, and they give you a special ticket, or something, but I'm sure it will say on the website.

 

BTW, assuming that you're coming in by train, because of the London Bridge works do double-check where your return trains are leaving from.  You don't want to get off at Charing Cross on the way back only to discover that you actually need Cannon Street!

[bangorballetboy]

Dh and I find ourselves staying in Sidcup on Friday night prior to collecting dd from a summer school & rather than spending the evening in the bar of the premier inn we are thinking about ticking something off our bucket list & going to a prom.

 

His bad back means we will have to sit but I'm surprised how reasonable ticket prices are in the balcony.

 

Info on the seats in the promming areas can be found here.

 

I note Friday's prom is currently sold out (promming tickets available on the day), unless it's the late night jazz prom you're thinking about.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

My husband said there were some availablewhen he looked on Saturday but I don't know where as I can't find them.

[godots_arrived]

There have been a number of performances well worth catching up with, all available on iPlayer. I would highlight (for various different reasons) the following as being worth catching up with if you missed them:

 

Alexander Nevsky on opening night: BBCSO/Oramo. Available to watch here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ebgv2m#p041lp8j

Missa Solemnis: BBCPO/Noseda. Available to listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eqjzc8#b07jmsj6

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4: Stuttgart RSO/Norrington (Levin): Available to listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/epnbp6#b07lg5yb

Mahler 3: LSO/Haitink: Available to listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e3pn3d#b07m4954

Jupiter Symphony: Aurora Orch/Collon. Astonishing performance from memory: Listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eqv8gw#b07m56vm

Schumann Violin Concerto: BBCPO/Storgarrds (Zehetmair): Listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ehpj5v#b07m58xk

 

To the person who asked, other than the obvious concerts (i.e. Berlin/Rattle) it's generally pretty easy to get tickets for any performance. Promming booked at 9am sharp on the day of the performance on the website with "print at home" tickets are only 7.12 pounds each. I've not failed to get them when I've needed/wanted them. 

[meadowblythe]

Related question, does anyone know anywhere nice (and not too expensive) to eat near the Albert Hall?  We are taking some friends for their first visit.  Ironically, we are seeing Harken Hardenberger, but not taking musical DD who is a trumpeter.

 

If you are promming, people often take shooting stick type things for the balcony, and in the arena there are seats both in the middle and round the edge. You might need to start queuing quite early to get one, but there are quite a few. My children used to be quite shameless in persuading people to let them have a sit down!

 

There is nothing quite like the Proms.  It is a unique atmosphere, unlike any other concert anywhere.  Do try and go and enjoy.  One hint - if you are buying prom tickets, you will need cash!

[alison]

Not any more - they now take Contactless.  The Proms have moved into the 21st century!

 

Re eateries: I never have time when I'm Promming, but I know there are places around South Kensington tube (the Comptoir Libanais seems popular, although I'm not sure to what extent it does "full" evening meals as opposed to large snack-type ones), down Gloucester Road (there was a nice-looking French cafe/eatery down there) and along into Kensington High Street (which is a straightforward bus ride away).  We had a very nice meal in the Cote Brasserie down the High Street (off a side road to the left) last year - although that was lunch rather than an evening meal - and I think there was a branch of Strada down there too.

[meadowblythe]

my goodness, contactless promming!  I was updating our library software yesterday, the nice support man told he hadn't encountered that particular bug for 3 years.  My response was that for my school this is positively cutting edge.

 

I don't think I have ever progressed beyond sandwiches on the steps in terms of food at the proms - the Comptoir Libanais sounds great.  Will report back next week.

[Anna C]

Dd and I watched last night's Verdi Requiem prom with great interest last night as dd's best friend was singing in the proms youth choir. What a wonderful performance! I'd have loved to have been there in person.

[Ian Macmillan]

I must say it was a powerful performance, and all concerned did so well - had my score out for a bit of singalong and recollection of past performances!

[RuthE]

Dd and I watched last night's Verdi Requiem prom with great interest last night as dd's best friend was singing in the proms youth choir. What a wonderful performance! I'd have loved to have been there in person.

 

I was there, and it was very well-performed, but I must admit not to my taste.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with what the youth choir did, but to be honest the choral sound I would prefer in that piece is the sound of a professional opera chorus of 60 adults, not a massed choir of 150 teenagers.

 

I also found the soprano soloist Tamara Wilson did not excite me.  Beautiful voice (I have previously admired her very much in The Force of Destiny last autumn, and her other Proms appearance earlier this summer singing Tippett's A Child of Our Time and part of the final scene of Die Walkure).  But other performances of the "Libera me" have gripped me in a way that this did not - it was just a bit emotionally underwhelming.