thu 19/12/2024

The Last Night of the Proms, BBC One: The Twitter Review | reviews, news & interviews

The Last Night of the Proms, BBC One: The Twitter Review

The Last Night of the Proms, BBC One: The Twitter Review

The hope and the glory (and the bobbing): part two as it unfolded

Here we go, here we go, here we go

Part 2 @bbcproms. The madness begins. Ms Derham has not switched gowns in the interval. No sign of Titchmarsh, for which we must give thanks.

The "traditional" necklace of laurels for Sir Henry Wood's bust. Wonder if he'd welcome his head being polished by a pink rag.

How do they pick these pieces? Apols but the Marche joyeuse did not fill this tweeter with joy. On the other hand, here's Renée plus a mike.

moonNot many sopranos can address an audience like Renée F. America's sweetheart sings Czech stuff now: back to her roots

While Renée continues blowing a hole in the Albert Hall ceiling, how's about looking at our splendid conductor gallery.

Dvořák: Rusalka – Song to the Moon. La Netrebko does it wearing basically not much. Preferring Renée in purple...

A gift from the Prommers for Renée F. They do provoke a very mixed bunch of emotions. Here comes Maxim Rysanov with a viola.

Of whom I have not heard. Am reminded of the observation re violinists/violists and how you tell the difference.

Arriving at orchestra rehearsal, violinists fight to sit at the front, while violists scrap to claim a seat at the back. Not Mr Rysanov tho.

Violin-ViolaThis suite is by Vaughan Williams btw. Rysanov also in purple. He and Renée pre-coordinated, clearly.

The BBC Chorus sings Lohengrin. Hands up if you didn't know this playground ditty was by Wagner.

Slow work typing with one hand.

Mass singalong alert. Clue: you'll never sing alone. Or not tonight. They didn't sing it here btw.

Well it makes a change from Anfield. Are they going to bring on Renée? She does it quite well.

To quote Barry Davies, who used the phrase on another occasion, you have to say that's magnificent.

And now for something from Pirates du Caribbean. Too much to hope for some swashbuckling from Keira K or J Depp, I guess.

Or failing that, Mackenzie Crook?

No but let's play it again. Splendid shot of the horns. Not biased or anything.

This is to give Renée valuable extra time to cantilever herself into whatever the hell she's wearing for Land of Hope and Glory.

pirates-of-the-caribbean-0006-jpgBy which I mean Rule Britannia. And she is still in purple. Off the shoulder, some sort of crown effect up top.

There is no getting away from the fact that this is an ejaculation of national something or other. Renée looks like a purple peeled banana.

Don't suppose there's many Sinn Feiners singing along in that shot from Co Down. Encore. Note stars and stripes in soloist's fist.

Late update: dress by V Westwood. Headgear by Her Majesty's constabulary. And did those feet get totally misunderstood once more.

NB the Welsh flags are biggest. (For further enlightenment see my biog).

Glorious camera work, think it should be said. On which subject check out this.

Jiri B speaks. "You have the nice voices." Bet he says that to all the audiences.

Never been a fan of the conductor's address.

Elgar. Anyone know how that bobbing thing started? Find it genuinely mystifying.

helmet_282x282Land of Hope and Glory just doesn't do it for me like You'll Never Walk Alone. Help, think I'm turning into a fashionable liberal.

And there blows the encore. I guess you had to be there.

Curmudgeonly thoughts aside, the Proms are one of the things that make this a land of hope and glory.

Wondering if it's unpatriotic to tweet during the National Anthem. Which is being sung pianissimo by the BBC Chorus. Classy touch.

Perfectly kosher to tweet during the second verse which no one knows, I think we can all agree. Even the Brits have lyric sheets.

Go on, play some J Strauss to end on a genuine musical high. No?

No?

No.

Oh yes, Auld Lang Syne. I goldfished.

Marvellous. One is ablaze with sentimental fervour. Final thought: where do all those Prommers go till next July?

Comments

on the last night of the proms, Renee Fleming was, according to the BBC commentator, presented with "a Gift chosen by the promenaders". Can anyone tell me what the gift was and how did they choose it?

Go over to http://www.facebook.com/promenaders.musical.charities and all will be revealed. And you'll get a further update on the charity total

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters