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Flashback to... Prom 1: The First Night of the Proms
A dazzling debut, an epic cantata and a moving tribute to victims of the Nice tragedy: here's how it all played out.
Dedicated Prommers began queuing on Friday morning. By the afternoon, they'd made friends.
This year, you can follow the progress of the queue outside the Royal Albert Hall by searching Twitter for #queuethemusic.
Queuing and puns. Could the Proms BE any more British?
The Royal Albert Hall was looking as beautiful as ever.
Sakari Oramo, Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra launched the 122nd season of the Proms with La Marseillaise, as a mark of respect to the victims of the Nice tragedy.
La Marseillaise
The First Night of the Proms opens with the La Marseillaise.
Almost 6,000 audience members stood as the Royal Albert Hall's organ was lit with the colours of the tricolour.
Shakepeare’s star-cross’d lovers inspired one of Tchaikovsky’s best loved themes:
Next up, the Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta made her Proms debut with Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
The Elgar Concerto is the first of ten cello concerti to feature in the 2016 Proms season.
Can you catch them all?
For her encore, Sol made a distinct gear change – playing *and singing* the haunting music of Pēteris Vasks. This piece is called Dolcissimo.
It’s a reworking of the soundtrack Prokofiev wrote written for Eisenstein’s 1938 film. Here’s one of its most famous scenes: The Battle on the Ice.
It paves the way for another Russian epic tonight – Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, with Bryn Terfel in the title role.
Want to know why Sakari’s looking so happy?
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What's On at the Proms 2016
Dates, times and descriptions for every event in this season's packed schedule.
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Podcast: The Proms Unplucked
Vikki Stone has all the backstage banter from the world’s biggest classical music festival.
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Celebrating Shakespeare at the Proms
Poet, playwright, muse: how Shakespeare is woven into the 2016 BBC Proms season.
