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Reader rating
Description: Sir Richard Norrington leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Singers as they perform flag-waving favourites such as Jerusalem, Pomp And Circumstance March No 1 and works by Beethoven, Wagner and Puccini. Featuring bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and pianist Helene Grimaud.
Phone: 0207838 3100
Trains: Tube: South Kensington/Kensington High Street 
Belly époque: Bryn Terfel in full Falstaffian regalia, with conductor Roger Norrington, delights the Last Night Prommers
Leaving aside the klaxons, the tropical topees and the inflatable bananas, there was a solid musical core to Saturday’s Last Night of the Proms, which brought an outstanding season to a close.
A short, boisterous world premiere by Anna Meredith refreshed the repertoire and we were spared the usual Sea Shanties which mercifully halved the knee-bending, whoopee-pooping quotient.
Star turn was Bryn Terfel, back to conquer hearts and minds as the world’s top bass-baritone with Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, UK folk-song and, delivered to perfection, Vaughan Williams’s Silent Noon. His generous presence, including a turn in full Falstaffian regalia, gave welcome coherence to the more serious first half when by custom flags stay furled.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Singers performed Beethoven’s Fantasia in C minor, or “Choral Fantasy”. It was an apt choice — the composer’s precursor to his Ninth Symphony, which was still ringing in our ears from the BBC Philharmonic’s restless, joyful account the night before.
The pianist in the Fantasy was Hélène Grimaud, a muscular, extrovert soloist, frequently grinning straight to the camera — or was is to that eye-catching front-row Prommer in the Luftwaffe pilot’s helmet?
Host of the evening was conductor Roger Norrington, chief juror of the TV series Maestro whose winner, comedian Sue Perkins, was at Proms in the Park enjoying her prize baton-waving stint. It’s a pity she didn’t return the compliment and supply him with a few jokes for his end-of-term speech.
He thanked you, me, music, life, love. He failed to thank former Proms director Sir Nicholas Kenyon who laid the foundations for this year, or his successor Roger Wright who brought it to life with such flair.
The statistics for 2008 are eye-popping: 281,934 tickets sold, 4,500 performers on stage, 90 per cent average attendance and more than 12 million BBC TV viewers. In lean times, great concerts are one of the few bargains around, with cash evidently left to spare since the Prommers’ nightly bucket collections at the door raised £70,000 for charity.
And so we reached the moment the die-hard loyalists long for. Kitted out in Welsh red dragon coat trimmed with saltire and cross of St George, Bryn led the lusty crowd in Rule, Britannia! Then everyone stood for Jerusalem, and a few sat down for the National Anthem. Roll on 17 July 2009 and we can start all over.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
