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FULL Last Night of the Proms – Proms at St Jude’s 2026 London 2026 Helen Charlston
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Last Night of the Proms - Proms at St Jude's
- Composer: various
- Libretto: various
- Venue & Opera Company: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, North London, UK, The Purcell School
- Recorded: July 5, 2026
- Type: Concert Live
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
PROGRAMME:
Walton
Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
Elgar
Sea Pictures
Carwithen
Overture to Men of Sherwood Forest
Prokofiev
Symphony No 1 ‘Classical’ in D major
Handel
Rinaldo: Lascia ch’io pianga
Mozart
Così fan tutte: Ah, scostati! … Smanie implacabili
Rodgers
Carousel: You’ll Never Walk Alone
Parry
Jerusalem
Traditional Auld Lang Syne
Join Proms on its traditional Last Night celebration, featuring a selection of music certain to inspire and entertain. Elgar’s beautiful song cycle, Sea Pictures sets poems by different authors to explore the sea’s power, romanticism and mystery. Set for contralto or mezzo soprano, it is performed at St Jude’s by Helen Charlston, whose voice has been described by the Evening Standard as ‘little short of miraculous’.
Walton’s patriotic, march-like fanfare and depiction of the construction of the iconic Spitfire aircraft written for the film The First of the Few (1942) opens the programme and in the second half Prokofiev’s first symphony playfully mimics the style of Haydn and Mozart while incorporating modern twists. The evening ends with popular arias and songs, with an invitation for the audience to sing along. Paul Hoskins has been Director of Music at The Purcell School since 2018. The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra includes exceptionally talented musicians whose repertoire includes classical works as well as contemporary pieces by living composers.