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Another chance to hear Bramwell Tovey conduct the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra at the 2020 Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Proms in a programme to mark Lehár's 150th anniversary, including favourites from The Merry Widow and works by his contemporaries.

Presented by Petroc Trelawny from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Marking 150 years since the birth of Franz Lehár – and recalling the long-running Proms tradition of the ‘Viennese Night’ begun in the 1950s – the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra and Bramwell Tovey step into the gilded ballroom of operetta, evoking the glamour and sophistication of turn-of-the-century Vienna.

The concert features some of Lehár’s most popular titles such as The Merry Widow, The Land of Smiles and Giuditta, as well as music by some of his contemporaries. Nathaniel Anderson-Frank, leader of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra, takes the role of Paganini with a solo from Lehár’s operetta of the same name, and the evening also includes excerpts from the most enduring and popular operetta of them all, Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus.

Lehár: Overture (The Merry Widow)
Oscar Straus: Don’t eat them all, you greedy man (from The Chocolate Soldier)
Lehár: Meine lippen sie Küssen so heiss (from Giuditta)
Kalman: Gruss mir mein Wien (from Gräfin Mariza)
Johann Strauss II: Overture (Die Fledermaus)
Lehár, arr Dexter: Prelude and Violin solo (from Paganini)
Heuberger: Im Chambre separée (from Opera Ball)
Lehár: Gold and Silver Waltz
Lehár: Es lebt eine Vilja (from The Merry Widow)
Lehár: You are my heart’s delight (from The Land of Smiles)
Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss: Pizzicato Polka
Johann Strauss II: The Watch Duet (from Die Fledermaus)

Sophie Bevan (soprano)
Robert Murray (tenor)
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey (conductor)