BBC Proms · Season 42 · Episode 2

First Night of the Proms

Friday, July 22

The opening of the 94th season of Henry Wood Promenade Concerts live in stereo from the Royal Albert Hall. Sir John Pritchard conducts the masterpiece that has become one of the most popular of all choral works. The Verdi Requiem Throughout this year's 69 Proms there is a single thematic thread - the response of composers over the centuries to the power of the word. Written at the height of his powers, Verdi's Requiem expresses the ancient Latin text in a richly theatrical style that has earned the work the epithet of 'Verdi's greatest opera'. Soloists Julia Varady (soprano) Dolora Zajic (mezzo-soprano) Dennis O'Neill (tenor) Evgeny Nesterenko (bass) BBC Symphony Chorus Bach Choir London Philharmonic Choir BBC Symphony Orchestra led by BELA DEKANY Introduced by Richard Baker