BBC Proms: Puccini and Strauss

Two of the 20th-century’s most powerful operas come together in a concert by Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra, performed at the BBC Proms.

Motherhood – longed-for or feared, inevitable or impossible – is the thread binding the devastating melodrama of Puccini’s one-act Suor Angelica to Strauss’ darkly ambiguous fable Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow), each a battle for humanity and its future.

Soprano Carolina López Moreno stars as Puccini’s tragic Sister Angelica, whose past conceals a terrible secret. Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra are joined by three choirs and three outstanding vocal soloists for a work of hope that emerged from the ashes of destruction.

Change of artist

Marianna Hovanisyan has withdrawn from the LSO’s performances of Suor Angelica at the Edinburgh International Festival and BBC Proms on 16 and 19 August, due to health reasons. We are pleased to announce that Jenny Stafford has agreed to step in for these concerts, in the role of Prima Cercatrice/First Tourière.