Direct from the Royal Albert Hall, London
BBC Singers, director John Poole
BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, leader Barry Griffiths, conductor Raymond Leppard

Part 1
Tippett Praeludium for brass, bells and percussion
Ritual Dances (The Midsummer Marriage)

8.5* Dido - as Virgil Intended?
Dr Nicholas Horsfall, Lecturer in Greek and Latin at University College, London, argues that English writers - Nahum Tate included - have created an image of Dido Queen of Carthage very different from that intended by Virgil in his Aeneid.

8.25* Proms 74: part 2
Purcell Dido and Aeneas

Purcell's one true opera dates from 1689. Except for Blow's Venus and Adonis no English opera prototype existed, so that Purcell, unhindered by convention, was able to experiment. The result is a masterpiece of great originality. The emotional climax of this famous love story of classical antiquity has become a classic of the stage and concert hall.

John Constable (harpsichord continuo)

(John Constable broadcasts by permission of the General Administrator, Royal Opera House Covent Garden)
(This Week's Proms : page 11)