Charles Hazlewood introduces as the stage, arena and galleries of the Royal Albert Hall provide a thrilling setting for Monteverdi's masterpiece - the spectacular Vespers of 1610. Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir return to the music with which they made their Proms debut in 1968, now joined by the expert period instrumentalists of the English Baroque Soloists, and with the additional brass forces of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. A festive new piece by Jonathan Dove opens the evening; a contemporary hornpipe forms an upbeat to anniversary composer Arne's Rule, Britannia!; and audiences around the UK can join the Royal Albert Hall crowd in singing along to excerpts from Lohengrin and Carousel in a climax to the BBC's opera season
