London Classical Music

 Hi everyone!

 For my last blog, I decided to talk about London's classical music. I love London! I love their architecture, their culture and I especially love the Royal family. It has such a beauty and Grace to it and that grasp me into an interest into researching the type of music there. They are full of many different types of music genres but the one that I want to focus on is classical.

Classical music is a big part of London culture. They can be seen in venues such as concerts, operas, live shows, dance shows, proms and even in events involving the Royal family. They even have shows that are specifically for classical music. The shows are usually one and a half to three hours long depending on the type of show and the music is played by a symphony orchestra. The dress code is usually relaxed but it is encouraged to wear formal wear to fit the special occasion. A list of very popular classical music venues are the Richmond Theater, London coliseum, Piccadilly theater, Eventim Apollo, and the Royal Albert Hall. Just to name a few.

The Royal Albert hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and it was named after her husband Prince Albert. It is in Kensington, south-west London.  It is one of the most vibrant music venues in the world and is surrounded by fine dining restaurants. It was built on what was once called the Gore Estate. It was the house of a political reformer named William Wilberforce between 1808 and 1828 and then the Countess of Blessington and Count D'Orsay between 1836 and 1849. Every summer they hold a series of informal concerts called the BBC proms which contain a wide variety of classical music. They have 2 months of concerts as an effort to bring the greatest classical music to as many people as possible at affordable prices and in a laid-back atmosphere. Singers, orchestras, soloists, and leading musicians travel from all over the world to play on this stage. The name "proms" is short for Promenade Concerts which comes from the tradition of Promming. The people that attend the concerts are called Promenaders or Prommers. People take part in this tradition by buying a standing ticket for a concert at a central arena or a high up gallery of the Royal Albert Hall for 6 Euros. There are usually up to 1,350 standing places for the attendees at each concert. One of the biggest highlights of the BBC proms is the BBC proms in the park which is an annual outdoor concert. There are fireworks, sing alongs and live music in an area nearby called Hyde Park. The event is like a closing celebration that happens on the last night of the BBC proms. 

A place that is well known for housing many dance shows involving classical music and other types of dances is the Sadler's Wells Theatre. The theater is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England. It was founded in 1683 by Richard Sandler and the theater was founded on his most famous quote "You got the national Theater for drama English National Opera for Opera and I want Sadler's Wells to perform the same function for contemporary dance."  He built the music house in the spring to compete with the well-known Tunbridge and Epsom Wells. The settler theater became so successful by the 18th century that you can see entertainers such as jugglers, rope dancers, tumblers, ballad singers. wrestlers, fighters, dancing dogs and even a singing duck. The theater was built in 1765 by Thomas Rosoman and refitted so it could have high Calibre Opera productions. The theater shifted to begin focusing on dance in 1889 when Lillian Baylis had been presenting drama and Opera at the Old Vic at affordable prices. This is the point where sub-theaters were being created to house the different types of arts. It was believed that great art should belong to everyone and in 1925 she began fundraising to rebuild Sadler's Wells so that the citizens of both North and South London could enjoy the same events. After that Baylis met Ninette de Valois , interviewed her and declared that she was going to run the ballet company. She was officially hired in 1928 and began working at the 5th theater building designed by architect Frank Matcham. The grand opening of the building was on January 6th 1931 and for 4 years opera, drama productions, and ballet shows were split between the Old Vic and the Sadler Wells until Baylis decided to make Sadler's Wells the house for Opera in ballet for 8 months of the year and give Vic Wells ballet a permanent base. The theater Sadler Wells became the most strongly associated with dance and 1945. De Valois founded British ballet here and built a company of dancers. She even added her own works and works of Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann to the mix. She also started a school that stayed open throughout World war II when the theater itself was used as a refuge for the homeless. At the end of the world De Valois brought her ballet school to the Covent Garden to become the Royal ballet. Her touring ballet company first known as the settler Wells theater ballet then became known as the Sadler Wells Royal ballet remained until 1955 and returned from 1972 1990 before moving permanently to Birmingham to become the Burnham Royal ballet. By the 1970s, the theater's dance program had been diversified at work alongside the rambert dance and London contemporary dance. Due to this collaboration, there was a great amount of touring and commercial work involved. However, audiences begin to drift away and a man named Ian Albery became chief executive in 1994 and decided to redefine the building to become an all-purpose build dance Theater. He led a campaign that would begin this transformation.  Albery's rebuilt opened in 1998 and is still standing strong today!

“BBC Proms 2021 - Classical Music.” Visitlondon.Com, 30 July 2021, www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/event/14261083-bbc-proms.

“Royal Albert Hall London - Theatre.” Visitlondon.Com, www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/58843-royal-albert-hall. Accessed 15 May 2022.

“History - Our Story - Sadler’s Wells.” SadlersWells, www.sadlerswells.com/about-us/our-story/history/#:%7E:text=Sadler’s%20Wells%20was%20not%20born,fashionable%20Tunbridge%20and%20Epsom%20wells. Accessed 16 May 2022.