BBC Proms receive 'Beyond Theatre' award

As I sat with my colleagues from the Proms, Radio 3 and the BBC performing groups, putting the finishing touches to the 2014 Proms, this year’s festival seemed a long way away.

That was until I received a surprise invitation to the Savoy Hotel in London to collect, on behalf of the whole Proms team, the Evening Standard Theatre Award in the “Beyond Theatre” category. Although the awards have a long and distinguished history, this is a relatively new innovation (Danny Boyle received it last year for his creation of the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony).

In working on the next few years Proms plans, the last one always fades quickly in the memory. So when the two-minute film of footage from the 2013 BBC Proms was shown at the ceremony it was a powerful flashback to the summer’s music making and the excitement that it generated.

I was thrilled that Sir David Attenborough had been selected to present the award. He is a regular audience member at the Proms and has spoken warmly of the festival’s ability to take the audiences’ musical interests further – most recently his discovery of Lutoslawski through the Berlin Philharmonic performance of his Symphony no.2 a couple of years ago. So he speaks with personal experience and passion about the power of music and the impact of the Proms.

The warmth of response to Sir David was overwhelming and there was a huge cheer for the Proms which seemed to celebrate the festival as both a London and an international event. Describing the Proms as ‘a pivotal part of British and global artistic life’, Sir David said the festival had been ‘at the heart of London’s cultural calendar for over a century’.

It was certainly a glamorous, star-studded event and I had the delight of sitting with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Joanna Lumley. Damien Lewis was the host of the awards and Dame Edna Everage added her unique glamour to the occasion. Her appearance (in a frock matched only by this year’s Reith Lecturer, Grayson Perry!) also nicely connected back to the Proms after her performance at Proms in the Park in Hyde Park on the Last Night.

A host of theatrical heavyweights presented and accepted awards, including Sir Richard Eyre, Hugh Grant, Rory Kinnear, Jude Law, Adrian Lester, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Maggie Smith and Kevin Spacey.

It was certainly an excellent opportunity to showcase what the Proms is all about to that august gathering. The highlights montage from the 2013 festival ranged from Matt Smith at the Doctor Who Prom, flamenco dancers, gospel choirs and leading international classical artists including Daniel Barenboim (in that extraordinary performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle), Joshua Bell and Mitsuko Uchida, to the world famous Last Night of the Proms starring Joyce DiDonato, Nigel Kennedy and Marin Alsop, the first woman to conduct the Last Night. Is it only a few months since there was all that discussion about women conductors? It seems ages ago.

The Evening Standard certainly raises the profile of theatre in London and the arts more widely with these awards. It was a pleasure to be there that evening and also good to see Sir Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Ibsen’s “Ghosts” winning an award too – and you can soon hear it on Radio 3.

So many guests talked about the BBC’s support for the arts and it is gratifying to have this sort of recognition for all the work undertaken by my colleagues.

So now it is back to Proms planning and to Radio 3 programming for the future - with the memory of the warm glow of the evening and the incredibly heavy award in my hand!

Roger Wright is Controller of Radio 3 and Director, BBC Proms.

• You can listen to an interview with Roger Wright about BBC Proms 2013 here.
• To see highlights of the 2013 event visit the BBC Proms website.
• Find out when and where you can see BBC Orchestras and Singers playing live throughout the year on the Concert Diary page.