Part of the BBC Proms. The host of last year's Last Night, Sir Roger Norrington returns to conduct music by all four of this year's major anniversary composers. Purcell's music to Abdelazar gave Britten the theme he used, 250 years later, in his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Prom 13), and American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato performs two Handel arias as well as Haydn's 'mad scene' for the distraught Berenice, who begs the gods to let her join her lover in death. Mendelssohn's evocative 'Scottish' symphony was conceived on the same 1829 holiday as his Hebrides overture (Prom 70). Approx finish time: 21:15. Live on BBC Radio 3 and recorded for broadcast on BBC Two on Sep 5.| 25 Aug 09 | Royal Albert Hall Inner London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
