First Night of the Proms - Part 1

Tchaikovsky’s ravishing 'Romeo and Juliet' overture launches our celebrations marking 400 years since the death of Shakespeare. Argentine soloist Sol Gabetta makes her Proms debut in Elgar’s hauntingly lyrical Cello Concerto, the first in a series of works throwing a spotlight on the instrument. Prokofiev delivered a score of new directness and clarity for his friend Sergey Eisenstein’s patriotic film Alexander Nevsky: the cantata he fashioned from it features the dramatic ‘Battle on the Ice’.