Fill the lungs with air and hoist your flags aloft for the rousing climax to the biggest classical music festival in the world – it's the last night of the Proms
One half musical celebration, one half rugby scrum, the last night of the Proms stands out because it is so unlike the rest of the much more sedate, cerebral and well-mannered eight-week season.
And yet it perfectly captures the Proms’ aim – to broaden classical music’s appeal.
Tonight’s programme sees the flamboyant US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton lending her voice as Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus through a set of rousing crowd-pleasers.
There’s no ducking Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem, or surefire classical favourites from Bizet, Verdi and Offenbach.
But there’s also young composer Daniel Kidane – who likes to inject Grime and Jungle into his music – ballet music from Manuel de Falla's The Three-Cornered Hat and a performance by Laura Mvula of her haunting Sing to the Moon.
A bit of something for everyone as the latest in the series of Proms stretching back to 1895 goes out in fine style.
TV Times rating: ****
