RPO x Richard Balcombe: Best of Broadway

A classical concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor and presenter Richard Balcombe, programmed around show tunes from Broadway musicals, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, usually shortened to RPO, is one of the leading British orchestras, based in London and founded in 1946. This evening pairs the orchestra with Richard Balcombe, who appears under the title Best of Broadway, bringing together the orchestra's symphonic sound and the melodies of the American musical theatre tradition.

The programme draws on Broadway repertoire, presented as a concert of orchestral arrangements of well-known songs rather than a staged production. Balcombe's role is that of a presenter and performer linking the pieces, so the evening suits listeners who know the musicals as well as those who are new to them.

The Royal Albert Hall, an elliptical venue on Kensington Gore opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, hosts concerts, shows and large-scale events across the year. It is a suitable setting for a full orchestra and a programme built around familiar theatre songs.