LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC Orchestra
05/10/2017
Sandy Clark, a Phd student at Hull University writing a paper on accessible opera kicked off the evening backstage with a lecture on the tradition of the end of summer festivities. He talked about the history of The Proms and was in conversation with the Conductor for the evening Hilary Davan Welton. This is me pictured with him before he donned his black suit. Sandy explained how the first BBC Prom in 1927 was meant to “Inform, educate and entertain”. How different conductors lead Wagner nights others a wide selection of pieces which reflected past traditions and contemporary tastes in music.
Hilary was as entertaining off stage as he was on, with quick jokes and delivery which had a full packed house on their feet for Rule Britannia. He talked about his work at Milton Keynes City Orchestra offstage, and about the colour of music and his even more colourful life with his many wives. We also got stories about the recent China Tour the Orchestra had just come back from.
I sat next to a couple from Wiltshire. They had come to Hull for City of Culture events and this was their first time at a classical event. You can read more about what they took in later in 2017 Hull’s Special year. According to Hilary if you come to 3 performances you are 70 per cent more likely to come to more. I think this couple would they certainly got into the spirit of the evening. The other side of me was a Biologist from Germany who had been in the UK for just two days. She lived in Beverly and had only been allocated the tickets by her boss about two hours before she was sat in her seat flag at the ready. She had not been to any other events yet.
I was swaying to Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. There was opera singing by Annie Gill and a change of outfits with a rendition of Carmen:Habanera. Full of passion and fire. She came to prominence when she performed the role of Mercedes at the Opera Comique Paris in a new production of Carmen directed by Adrian Noble. The more well known The Hills Are Alive and Favourite Things were belted out by Annie from The Sound of Music.
My favourite piece was the sad Enigma Variations: Nimrod by Elgar. A tribute to a German friend apparently. I felt a tear swell in my eye..
Hilary had rehearsed with children from Hull in a bid to make music more accessible. He talked about some members of the orchestra who worked with local children in the Humber region about five times a year. I sang along to Jerusalem along with everyone on my level of the circle. A woman in a row in front of me un ravelled a large flag for Land of Hope and Glory. Soon the whole audience were joining in.
During the interval I met an art student and her Grandmother, a local Councillor, out for the night enjoying some ice cream. It was refreshing to see a 16 year old with lively blue hair at an evening like this. Last Night of the Proms certainly encompass all generations and tastes.
Hull City Hall may not be the Royal Albert Hall and the colourful dress of linked performances in Belfast and the Southbank to name a few on actual Last Prom night, but the wind instruments, the stings and so on all had their showcased slots and my ears literally vibrated. The clarinets danced in my ears.
I went home on the 350 bus and had to be content with replaying British Sea Songs in my head. I couldn’t get a taxi home and in my moon boot lit by moonlight it took me two hours to Walk home. Apparently you can tweet Hilary at @HilaryConductor.
