Tom Service, conductor Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra continue their impressive feat of explaining complex works and then performing them from memory. This year, their biggest challenge yet to the Proms: Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Russian fairy tales and folk melodies collide with Stravinsky's bold modernism in one of the great ballet scores of the 20th century. The concert opens with another Russian classic: Rachmaninov's virtuosic Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed by former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Pavel Kolesnikov.

An evening of opera excerpts on the themes of separation and reconciliation A host of British opera stars join Ben Glassberg and the BBC Philharmonic for a night rich in emotion and drama. After a year of lockdowns and social distancing, the themes of isolation and loneliness as well as the joy of reunion have particular poignancy in excerpts from much-loved operas including Handel's Rodelinda, Beethoven's Fidelio, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel and Puccini's La bohème.