Welcome to your daily BBC Proms preview from BBC Music Magazine. It's Thursday 29 August, and today's Prom 52 features a performance of Georges Bizet's iconic opera Carmen.
We recommend coming back to www.classical-music.com each day during the 2024 Proms (which last until Saturday 14 September), as we are running an in-depth preview of that evening's Prom concert every day during the festival. Meanwhile, if you want to find all the 2024 Proms listings in one place, then you need our 2024 BBC Proms guide.
Here, you'll find informative listings for all the 2024 Proms - both the 73 Proms taking place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and the the other events around the country - chamber music concerts in Belfast, Newport and Aberdeen, and weekend festivals in Gateshead, Nottingham and Bristol.
What's on at the BBC Proms today?
Today's concert, Prom 52, features a semi-staged performance of Bizet's great opera Carmen, sung in French with English surtitles.
Bizet's sultry, Spanish-set story is one of the best known operas in the canon. The ‘Habanera’ and the ‘Toreador Song’ from Carmen have both transcended the opera to become much-loved and much-performed works in their own right, and the whole work is stuffed full of drama, passion and irresistible melodies.
Carmen herself is one of opera's most iconic heroines: bold, forthright, plain-speaking, passionate - and busy smoking, drinking and seducing her way around Seville. Don José, a corporal stationed in the town, quickly falls in love with Carmen and deserts from the army to be by her side. Sadly for José, however, the impulsive Carmen soon tires of him and makes eyes at the bullfighter Escamillo instead.
The stage is set for tragedy, and tragedy - of a sultry, passionate, lovestruck form - is exactly what we get. We won't give away too much of what follows: suffice to say that the action shifts to the bullring and that blood is shed.
Headstrong, sensual and passionate, Carmen is one of opera’s great characters, and the opera that bears her name is one of the best operas for beginners. If you already know and love the work, here are some suggestions of what to try after Carmen.
Who is performing at the BBC Proms today?
The cast for this production of Bizet's Carmen includes Rihab Chaieb (Carmen), Evan LeRoy Johnson (Don José), Łukasz Goliński (Escamillo) and others. They are accompanied by Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, led by the German conductor Anja Bihlmaier.
What time does tonight's Prom start?
Prom 52, featuring Bizet's Carmen, gets going at 6.30pm.
And how much are tickets to the BBC Proms today?
Tickets are priced from £26 to £80.
