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The Telegraph, 13 September 2015 |
By Hannah Furness |
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Last Night of the Proms, 2015, London, Royal Albert Hall |
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Last Night of the Proms turns racy as fans throw knickers at Jonas Kaufmann
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Concert descends into hysteria closer to Sir Tom Jones concert as female fans throw underwear at star German tenor who performed Rule Britannia |
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It has always been the most exuberant night of the classical music calender,
with painted faces and flag-waving galore.
But this year's Last Night
of the Proms descended into something closer to a Sir Tom Jones concert as
fans threw their knickers at the star tenor and its conductor whipped out a
selfie stick.
Jonas Kaufmann, the German singer who performed Rule
Britannia, looked delighted as he was pelted with lacey undergarments from
female fans among the Prommers, the enthusiastic hardcore fans known for
their distinctive Last Night "bobbing".
Dubbed the "Poldark of the
Proms", the handsome singer picked up one tiny black thong and one pair of
cream silk knickers, twirling them around to show the audience before being
presented with his official, wrapped thank you gift.
He later entered
into the spirit of the night himself, grinning as he carried a pair of Union
Flag boxer shorts on stage.
The unexpected turn of events saw BBC
Proms presenter Katie Derham momentarily lost for words, joking: "Oh good
Lord, this is getting out of hand."
"I think that might be a first
for the Last Night of the Proms," she added.
Marin Alsop, making her
second appearance as the only female conductor to lead the Last Night, also
made sure any accusations of the Proms being inaccessible or elitist are the
thing of the past, as she brandished a very modern selfie stick.
The
conductor took a selfie with the excited Royal Albert Hall crowd, before
turning to snap the orchestra and posting the pictures on Twitter:
She was cheered to the rafters for a speech, in which she abandoned staid,
formal thanks and instead issued an impassioned plea for gender equality and
arts funding from her podium.
Speaking ahead of the last few
traditional songs, the National Anthem and Auld Lang Syne, Alsop called the
night a "wonderful and slightly wacky celebration", saying she looked
forward to seeing her next female successor.
"I'm not going to
pretend that music can change the world," she said. "But on this incredible
night, in this incredible hall, with all of you here, I feel the power of
music to unite us and bring out the best that humanity has to offer.
"We have to reach out to those people who are struggling to be heard today.
Let's bring the sound of our voices together so that it reaches out to
people everything, all of our brothers and sisters. That is the great power
of music."
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