BBC Proms (1947) : 80x17

A long-awaited Proms debut for the Metropolitan Opera’s Met Orchestra – praised for its ‘white-hot musical drama’ – under Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. A sumptuous all-Strauss programme includes a suite from Der Rosenkavalier – a ravishing homage to Vienna’s golden age – as well as the autobiographical drama of Ein Heldenleben – a striving, battling ‘Hero’s Life’ brought to vivid orchestral life. Celebrated South African soprano Elza van den Heever joins the orchestra for the final scene of the composer’s Salome – a searing centrepiece for one of the world’s great opera orchestras.