Michael Ball at the Proms
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ON AUGUST 27, 2007, as part of this year’s BBC Proms, singer Michael Ball will perform a full-length concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Defending a decision that has been described as “dumbing down”, Proms controller Nicholas Kenyon said organisers had a duty to broaden the event’s appeal by responding to audience demand.
And of Ball, he said: “He deserves a place at the Proms just as much as performers in the great classical tradition….Our job is to cover the whole waterfront. I think he is one of the great, intelligent singing artists alive today.”
Ball made his West End debut in 1985 when he originated the role of Marius in Les Miserables. That was followed by The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Passion and more recently, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (as Caractacus Potts) and The Woman in White (as Count Fosco).
However, it was Aspects of Love that had the biggest influence on his career. Not only did the London production transfer to Broadway but he has made the hit song Love Changes Everything his own.
Prior to the Prom’s concert, Ball will appear in the English National Opera’s production of Kismet at the London Coliseum.
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Although details of Ball’s Prom concert have yet to be confirmed, it’s thought that songs from various Andrew Lloyd Webber and other musicals will be included. Previous non-classical shows have been devoted to Brazilian and Cuban music.
The BBC Prom season runs from July 13 to September 8, 2007 and, in 90 concerts, will span eight centuries of music, starting with Beethoven’s Nineth Symphony.