Classical & Opera at the Royal Albert - a talk by Richard Dacre

This page is for in-person tickets for this event - please see our separate page for online tickets.

As we approach the 2024 BBC Promenade concert season at the Royal Albert Hall, it is a good time to look back at the Hall’s long and distinguished association with Classical Music and Opera. It has not always been a smooth journey. While the Hall’s inaugural concert in 1871 showcased classical music, it required a change to its Royal Charter to allow it to host its first opera in 1927, and the Proms only came to the Hall for the first time in 1941 due to wartime destruction. Being the world’s largest and most prestigious classical music festival, it is unsurprising that the Proms are the main reason that all the greats of the classical and opera worlds have performed at the Hall. But it is far from the only reason, as we shall discover.

You will also be brought up to date with a brief look at the 2024 Proms programme and other classical events scheduled at the Hall for the remainder of the year.

After spells with the Other Cinema Collective, working on the cult children’s TV series Cloppa Castle, and managing London’s Scala Cinema, Richard Dacre ran Flashbacks film memorabilia shop in the heart of Soho for 26 years. For the past 13 years, he has worked at the Royal Albert Hall, where he researches its history to produce tours and presentations. In addition to writing the Royal Albert Hall’s Official Souvenir Guide, Richard’s published work includes Trouble In Store: Norman Wisdom – A Career In Comedy (1991), the comedy chapter in the BFI’s British Cinema Book (1997/2009), Movie Posters – The History of Cinema from the Origins to the Present (2020), and multiple entries for The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2012- ).

This event will be delivered both in-person and online. To book an online ticket, please visit

People with in-person tickets will be able to watch the talk at Shoe Lane Library, and those with online tickets will be sent a Zoom link before the event. If you would like to change your ticket type, please get in touch with us directly.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Shoe Lane Library, 1 Little New Street, London, United Kingdom