#bbc-proms

#bbc-proms

The artwork for The Dream of Gerontius Recorded live at the 2022 BBC Proms, this propulsive reading has a great deal going for it. Allan Clayton captures the febrile nature of the dying man whose every sensation is both a terror and a fascination. His heroic tone thrills in the great prayer, Sanctus Fortis, while an expressive use of text illuminates the philosophical question and answer session in Part Two.

bringing with it the weight of tradition: a reminder that opera at the Proms has always been about making the grand feel accessible, and the intimate feel expansive. In the vast space of the Royal Albert Hall, the familiar overture races ahead with its restless wit, and suddenly an opera written for the intimacy of late-18th-century Vienna came alive again for thousands of listeners under a single domed roof and for many, many more live on Radio 3.