Synopsis

From London's Royal Albert Hall, James Naughtie offers live coverage – broadcast simultaneously with Radio 3 – of Berlioz’s *Damnation of Faust*, the opening concert of this year’s BBC Proms season. The opera, with its dramatic score recounting a man’s bargain with the Devil for his soul, embodies one of the key themes of the 1998 Proms: the intricate link between magic, mystery, and music. Baritone Bryn Terfel portrays Mephistopheles, while tenor Richard Margison and mezzo-soprano Ann Mur