My night at the Prom(s)

In America, the word "prom" evokes images of happy teenagers in suits and dresses (which are, depending on your generation, grand, beautiful,  slinky, or scanty) attending an evening ball toward the end of their junior or senior years of high school, to reminisce and generally have a good time.

In London, the word "prom," especially in the summer, will take on a very different meaning: a single classical concert from a summer series of over 70 held over eight weeks, mostly at the Royal Albert Hall.  The BBC Proms were founded in 1895, and are apparently known best for their final night (as opposed to late night), which is used by audience members to show great amounts of Britishness, a word I wish we Americans had the equivalent of.

Anyway, I attended the proms on the second to last day (Friday the 11th), for the second to last evening, and last late night performances.  I arrived at 6:00 sharp behind the Royal Albert Hall, to get into the "day prommers" line, which is for tickets in the "arena," and discovered that I would have to wait in the very back of the line, where I was not guaranteed entry (my friend from Cambridge, Riddhi, was much further up with some friends of his).  Fortunately, after much waiting, I was able to reach the door, and buy my ticket, at which point I was ushered downstairs to into the depths of the theater to the orchestra section, where I found my companions and proceeded to emerge onto the floor of the hall, which had been quite deliberately stripped of almost any form of seating except for (as far as I could see) a few chairs around the edge occupied by sleeping, obese men and prim ladies who scowled at the rest of us as we appeared to approach their chairs, as if we might somehow displace them by mere fact of our presence.

I wish I could say that I was surprised, but I had unfortunately been warned that the arena tickets (for only £5.00) at the Proms are standing room only.  For the first concert of the evening, we arrived just before it started, so we were crammed at the back of the arena, but the view and sound were still spectacular (being such a small space).  The problem is that standing through two hours of the Vienna Philharmonic, while fantastic sounding, is extremely painful and exhausting, especially when you haven't eaten yet.  With a little bit of luck and help, we managed to find food during the intermission, which was perfect because the second half was a fantastic performance of Don Quixote.

For the second prom, #75, we arrived in the line just as they were letting people in.  But this time, there were two lines - one for people who had just seen the last show, and one for everyone else.  We hopped on the first one just as they were letting the second line follow, and when we arrived in the arena we found that only the very front part was filled, and then only with people sitting on the floor.  Revealed to us was a fountain in the center of the arena, which was actually running for the pre-show arrivals.  The second show (and the reason I was convinced to attend), was the Silk Road Ensemble, with Yo-Yo Ma.  Fantastic.  Absolutely fantastic.  It was a smaller ensemble (it varied from 6 - 18 people depending on the song) and they played fusion Asian and European arrangements, but the best parts were that they improvised, and that they really enjoyed what they were doing.  Whenever someone wasn't playing, they were grinning madly (it's hard to grin and play a cello or violin it seems), and for those who could (drummers and strummers) while they were playing too.  To top it all off, it was the best instrumental concert I have heard in person (although enjoyment is obviously influenced by what you see too).  Unfortunately I couldn't stay standing the whole time, but I managed it for about half of it (on and off).

Anyway, a fantastic evening, and I have to highly recommend attending a concert by the Silk Road Ensemble if you have a chance, and also the proms if you're here in the summer and can stand (or buy a seat ahead of time).