This Prom will be broadcast for free at 19:30 BST.

Please note that it will not be possible to have an audience at the Royal Albert Hall for this concert.

Marking 150 years since the birth of Franz Lehár – and recalling the long-running Proms tradition of the ‘Viennese Night’ begun in the 1950s – we step into the gilded ballroom of operetta, evoking the glamour and sophistication of turn-of-the-century Vienna.

Clink your glasses to an evening of champagne-filled romance and melody featuring excerpts from Lehár’s most popular titles such as The Merry Widow, The Land of Smiles and Giuditta, as well as music by fellow creators of the ‘Silver Age’ of Viennese operetta – and excerpts from the most enduring and popular operetta of them all, Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus (‘The Bat’). The ever-stylish BBC Concert Orchestra graces the stage, under its Principal Conductor Bramwell Tovey.

PROGRAMME

Franz Lehár
The Merry Widow – overture 9’
(arr. Phil Park/Ronald Hanmer)

Oscar Straus
The Chocolate Soldier – Duet: ‘Don’t’ eat them all, you greedy man’ 5’
(arr. Ronald Hanmer)

Franz Lehár
Giuditta – ‘Meine lippen, sie süssen so heiss’ 6’
(arr. Hans Schneider)

Emmerich Kálmán
Countess Maritza – ‘Wenn es Abend wird’ … Grüss mir mein Wien’ 5’
(arr. Max Schönherr)

Johann Strauss II
Die Fledermaus – overture 9’

Franz Lehár
Paganini – Prelude and Violin Solo 4’
(arr. Harry Dexter)

Richard Heuberger
Der Opernball – Rendezvous-Duettino (‘Im Chambre Séparée’) 6’

Franz Lehár
Gold and Silver Waltz 8’

Franz Lehár
The Merry Widow – Vilja 6’
(arr. Phil Park/Ronald Hanmer)

Franz Lehár
The Land of Smiles – ‘You are my heart’s delight’ 4’

Johann Strauss II
Josef Straus
Pizzicato Polka 3’

Johann Strauss II
Die Fledermaus – Watch Duet
(arr. Stanford Robinson, Chris Williams)

Sophie Bevan soprano
Robert Murray tenor
BBC Concert Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey conductor