Episode 2 All Together Now: The Great Orchestra Challenge

We are a nation of enthusiasts.

We love our dogs, our football, our green fields

and, of course, our music.

Up and down the country,

thousands of us give up our evenings and weekends

to play in an amateur orchestra.

Much better.

We've got people who are 16 and we've got people who are 70,

coming from all walks of life.

From airline pilots to cheesemakers and everyone in between,

they all do it for love.

Thursday night has always been orchestra night.

It's euphoria, it's great.

Music's the best.

We're searching for the orchestra that best captures

the very spirit of British amateur music-making,

to find one winner who'll perform at the BBC Proms in Hyde Park.

We're in it to win it. Not messing about here.

Last time, orchestras from Devon...

Birmingham...

..London...

Stirling...

and Yorkshire performed part of a symphony

at the BBC Maida Vale studios.

Only four could make it through,

and so we sadly said goodbye

to Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra.

This time, get those vocal cords warmed up,

because we're heading to the opera.

Our four remaining orchestras have been given an extract

from a well-known aria to work on,

and they've got just three weeks to get ready for a final performance,

with a professional singer from the Royal Opera House.

They'll be judged by renowned conductor

and former musical director of the English National Opera, Paul Daniel.

Opera.

What an extraordinary thing for an orchestral musician

to be able to play.

It's not just about playing as an orchestra for yourself,

it's about accompanying a human voice.

And it's a very big challenge for any orchestra.

Helping to get the most out of each orchestra is our mentor,

double bassist and founder of the "Chineke! Orchestra",

Chi-chi Nwanoku.

As an orchestral player,

to accompany the human voice, it's not easy.

One never knows how long a breath is going to take

before the singer goes on to the next sentence.

So if it's a challenge for us professionals, who've done it years,

it's going to be a real challenge for the amateur players.

With the help of our experts,

the orchestras will be put through their paces,

starting with a masterclass conducted by Paul,

and then a mentoring session with Chi-Chi.

Paul and I are starting off in Birmingham,

home of The People's Orchestra.

Community-based TPO has been going for four years,

and was started by orchestra manager Sarah.

For some people, it is like a second family.

It's their orchestra family.

They love coming to it

and it really fulfils a part of their lives.

This is a very unconventional orchestra.

They've got all of these saxophones, all these different instruments.

But what they do have is spirit, enthusiasm, excitement,

energy by the bucket-load.

And I've chosen a piece, of course,

which will, I hope, play to their strengths

as well as challenge them.

HE HUMS MELODY

THEY PLAY: Toreador Song from Carmen by Georges Bizet

Although they improved for their final performance,

last time, Paul felt The People's Orchestra

were a bit rough around the edges.

So he's given them a piece to test them on their precision.

Hello! Oh, hello.

Sorry. Hello, everyone. Hello. Nice to see you again.

Sorry to interrupt. First of all, I just wanted to say well done.

I'm so pleased that we're seeing you again for round two.

I'm really looking forward to hearing you put through your paces

by Mr Daniel. CARMEN get it!

See what I did there?

Very nice to see you. It's a pity it's not 30 degrees and, you know,

kind of, sweltering outside,

because it needs to be to play this opera really well.

And I want you to transport us to Seville, right now.

So, let's get started.

From Bizet's tragic opera, the Toreador Song is sung by Escamillo,

as he eyes up the title character, Carmen.

Later on, she's killed in a jealous rage

by Escamillo's bitter rival, Don Jose.

OK.

It's quite sunny. We need a bit more of something...

I think we need a voice.

We need Mr Rick Zwart, who is...

To get used to accompanying a voice,

all of the orchestras get the opportunity to rehearse

with a student opera singer.

So here's Escamillo, a matador, yeah?

Can you give us a bit of matador action, as well?

Sure. Yes.

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS CHUCKLE

All right, everybody. Two, three...

# Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre... #

Supermarket assistant Jacqueline

has been playing with the orchestra for three years,

and is playing a slightly different instrument from her usual flute.

SHE PRACTISES TOREADOR SONG

No.

I volunteered to play piccolo

before I actually saw the piece of music.

Why do I do these things?

"Oh, I'll play piccolo part, that'll be absolutely fine, yeah."

I am struggling with it,

because the piccolo has very tiny little keys next to each other.

If you blow too hard, it makes it really sharp.

If you don't blow enough, it's really flat and it sounds awful.

It's very... I have to be more precise with this.

Yes.

So, Paul, how are they doing?

Well, all the things I expected - all that energy,

all that enthusiasm.

But they've got to be precise.

HE HUMS MELODY LOOSELY

HE HUMS MELODY PRECISELY

That kind of sound, you know? Be really careful.

You can't drive a ten-tonne truck through this aria.

Even though it's very strong,

it's got to be very, very beautiful and delicately played.

Again. Two, three...

RICK RESUMES SINGING

'It's going to be very, very difficult for them, I think.

'But, knowing their ambition,'

I think they will pull a few rabbits out of their hat.

Down in the capital,

Paul and I joined the London Gay Symphony Orchestra,

who, this year, are celebrating their 20th anniversary.

I'm quite excited about opera, actually.

Yeah, we don't do much opera, so that's going to be interesting.

Yeah.

Last time, Paul felt the orchestra played it a bit safe.

They, I know, are a little bit held back

with the way they express themselves. They're...

The idea of them being very sensuous with their playing, and...

I find... There's a bit of distance.

That's why I wanted to challenge them.

Hello, hello, hello.

I, for one, can't wait to hear what you make of this next challenge.

So let me hand over to Paul to tell you a little bit more about it.

Mr Daniel. Thank you, Katie. Thank you. Good afternoon.

Very nice to see you again.

This is an aria that is probably one of the best-known arias

in the world.

It's by Puccini, it's from La Boheme,

and it's sung by Musetta in the second act.

It was a deliberate choice to give you this aria.

We have to not be cautious, we have to be not restrained.

We must let our souls sing through our instruments.

THEY PLAY: Quando Me'n Vo' from La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

# Quando me'n vo' soletta per la via... #

This extract from La Boheme is sung by Musetta,

who is a flirty and passionate character,

singing to seduce her occasional boyfriend, Marcello.

ELIZABETH CONTINUES SINGING

Easy.

So this whole thing is like a kind of seduction.

What's the words?

I feel... I savour the desire...

Yeah, I'm tasting you.

Yes. Yes.

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS CHUCKLE

This is why you've got to open your hearts up to this music.

First violins, 21.

Seduce us.

Listen to me. I'm so special...

First violinist Jo has been with the LGSO since 2001,

and she was seduced by the violin when she was just eight years old.

Some of my friends were carrying these oddly shaped cases

and I thought, "Oh, what's that?" And they said, "We play the violin.

"But you can't play, it's just for special children."

So I thought, "No. Actually, this is going to happen."

I teach the violin to little children.

Ready, go.

'And I absolutely love it.

'Some of my students are as young as three years old,

'and we have great fun in lessons.'

Two for two. Well done.

What makes LGSO so special?

We all talk, we all chat, we all hang out.

It's really nice.

As one of the straight people in the orchestra,

I'm a different minority and I find that refreshing.

It's, like, "Hey..."

And as well as being mates,

Paul knows that an orchestra has to be bigger than the sum of its parts.

An orchestra, as a whole - you imagine, perhaps,

that they're like a kind of bunch of worker bees,

so that all of these different egos and personalities come together,

to create something which is much greater

and much more beautiful than any one of them on their own.

From the Big Smoke to the rural West Country,

where conductor of the North Devon Sinfonia, Emma

and her husband and orchestra leader, Dan

set up the orchestra 12 years ago.

We are going to play a piece from opera.

Between Dan and I, it is very much a double act.

Working as a husband and wife team, in the orchestra, works really well.

I think we complement each other.

I'm quite fast, opinionated, quick-thinking, passionate, loud,

over the top. And Dan's kind of the opposite.

Some people say, you know, we're chalk and cheese.

I think we're more cheese and pickle.

You know, it really kind of works together.

It was really exciting, actually, 12 years ago,

to, kind of, set up an orchestra

that I could, kind of, do the conducting thing

without having to, kind of, qualify.

I just, kind of, naturally qualified by deciding to set the orchestra up.

There is a nurturing thing there,

but, ultimately, I just like taking control and being in charge.

Please don't put that in.

Well, taking control for today is Paul Daniel.

Last time, at Maida Vale, although impressed by their improvement,

he felt the wind section were a little inconsistent.

So he's testing the orchestra by giving them an aria

that really challenges the clarinets, flutes,

bassoons and oboe.

I've brought one of the most depressing

but one of the most passionately depressing arias,

sung by a character called Lensky in Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky.

Maybe we won't talk too much about it.

Maybe we'll just play it and sing it, yeah?

THEY PLAY: Kuda, Kuda, Vi Udalilis from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky

# Skhazi, pridyosh li, dyeva krasoti... #

This dark Russian opera by Tchaikovsky

was based on poet Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin.

Part love song and part suicide note,

Lensky is singing ahead of a duel

where he feels he will surely die.

I want them to come to terms with what Tchaikovsky's written,

which is a very lonely, lonesome aria,

with accompaniment which expresses this loneliness and this desolation.

Just taking it in. It's nice to watch them play.

What are you singing about here, Peter?

This first phrase... I'm sort of singing to Olga,

even though she's not there, "Tell me, beautiful maiden,

"if you will come and shed a tear on my untimely urn."

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS CHUCKLE

Happy chappie(!)

I tell you what, Peter, why don't you go and sit with them?

OK. And make some music with them?

It's very nice to be able to have his line, his poetry,

right next to you, yeah?

Without you, he's nothing,

and without him, you're nothing, you know?

They're absolutely... They're joined together.

Go on, then.

# Skhazi, pridyosh li, dyeva krasoti... #

Did you want me to play? Sorry.

I was transfixed.

So beautiful. No-one's ever sung to me like that before!

Clarinettist Sarah might have a leading role in the aria,

but away from the orchestra, she has a lot to fit in -

looking after four donkeys, three dogs

and thousands of prize-winning lupins.

It's quite stressful, running a business.

The business takes pretty much 24 hours...

well, not 24 hours - seven days a week, very long days.

And for me to be able to stop at the end of the day

and go and play music, is a great de-stresser.

It certainly is quite tricky to fit in practising.

A little bit of pressure, but that's fine.

We're up to it.

I think.

# Skhazi, pridyosh li, dyeva krasoti... #

It's much more difficult than I anticipated,

playing with an opera singer.

I'm trying to read the music and watch the conductor

and listen to the singer at the same time, and it's quite difficult.

Back in Birmingham, mentor Chi-Chi Nwanoku

is starting her tour of the orchestras.

She'll be working on Paul's suggestions

on how to help the orchestras improve.

So, if we have...

SHE HUMS MELODY

..so we all get to do that rhythm.

He feels TPO need to evoke the Spanish spirit,

so Chi-Chi has a plan.

Brilliant. That's really, really getting it, now.

Who would like to come along for a bit of a Spanish expedition?

Yes. Yes.

Excellent.

One has to get the feeling that you need to dance.

You need to be able to dance to this music.

So Chi-Chi's arranged to do just that

at a local Spanish restaurant.

We've got some wonderful performers here, and they're going to show us,

with their shapes and rhythms and strength and passion,

what I want you to bring into your performance.

CHEERING

The way that the dancers are so passionate, the way that they...

You've got to have attitude, haven't you?

And that's what the music needs. It needs attitude.

This will definitely help to put more Spanish

into the piece that we're doing, Toreador.

It's just, like, I know now that, when I'm playing it,

I will be picturing this.

They're learning about flamenco, they're dancing flamenco.

This is only going to help.

I think it's a really good thing. They're all such great sports.

And, yeah, they're on their feet.

It's amazing!

North of the border, in Stirling,

Paul and I are arriving for the last masterclass.

At Maida Vale, Paul was impressed with how far they came

in the eight-week challenge,

but felt they fell down on their playing technique.

So he's given them Madama Butterfly by Puccini,

which should test them on just that.

This is intense, this is slow, this is all about accompanying,

in this case, the wonderful character of Butterfly,

this young girl.

So, trumpets, you know where we're starting, at figure 14?

Three, four, one...

THEY PLAY: Un Bel Di, Vedremo from Madama Butterfly by Puccini

# Chi sara? Chi sara? E come sara giunto... #

Madama Butterfly is a heartbreaking tale of love and rejection.

In this aria, lead character Butterfly hopes against hope

that her husband will return to her after three years away.

This is not easy to accompany.

The thoughts of Butterfly have got to be converted

into every note that they play,

and they have to find the intricacies of the emotions

in their playing.

CHARLIE CONTINUES SINGING

What we've got is something that is almost tailor-made

to give us technical challenges that we'll need to think about

very carefully.

It's not a very long extract, so that makes it manageable.

But there's an awful lot to do in it.

The singer could effectively do anything -

she could hold some notes and, you know, slow down, speed up,

so we've really got to keep one eye on the conductor

and then one ear on what she's actually singing as well.

So it's actually quite challenging to, kind of, do two things at once

and play at the same time, of course.

CHARLIE CONTINUES SINGING

OK. That's it.

This wonderful melody, it appears and it's gone again already.

It sort of...

Cellist Jen has been with Stirling Orchestra

for ten of their 34 years.

She fits in rehearsals around bringing up three children,

all under five.

That's it. Perfect!

I would say I'm an average cello player.

I enjoy playing, I can take a stab at most things.

I'm not the most technical of players -

my technique's not very good.

But I like playing all the big tunes.

JEN PLAYS CELLO

I've got a three-month-old baby,

and I have been practising because of the contest.

So, actually, he's a very chilled-out baby,

and he loves me practising.

I have him sitting in his bouncy chair,

and I just practise away and he just kicks around.

And he seems to enjoy listening to the cello, which is fab.

Anyone like singing?

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS CHUCKLE

You can sing it to "la", and sing along with Charlie.

HE SINGS MELODY

You hear what she does there? She slides a bit, to get...

So the connection between the notes is completely without a gap, yeah?

CHARLIE SINGS

ORCHESTRA JOINS IN

Making the orchestra sing

as beautifully as our singer, Charlie...

Play it like that and we'll have something special.

..made a real difference. I was pleased, actually.

Singing comes a long time

before anyone picked up any musical instruments.

Orchestral musicians don't spend a lot of time connecting with that.

But behind it all is a human voice,

and that often helps to open up all kinds of responses in the music.

Yeah, it's coming.

How exciting!

Have you guys done much opera? None. None whatsoever.

It's only three minutes,

but it's packed with emotion and packed with technical challenges.

Have fun.

And thank you very much.

It was a great idea to get us to sing,

because it gave us this sort of seamless tone

that we've got to have, so there's no bumps.

So now, then, are you now pretty keen

to stay in through to round three?

Why do you mention round three?

We'll carry on till the bitter end.

Our sights are high.

So that's it - the masterclasses are over.

And Stirling Orchestra kindly oblige with a very Scottish knees-up.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS SCOTTISH JIG

Thank you very much. Thank you.

As the orchestras prepare for their final performance,

homes up and down the country are filled

with the sound of music practice.

In Birmingham, Nigel and Danny are working on their precision

to Toreador from Carmen.

I put the wrong note in there, so...

And down in Devon, Jo the cheesemaker

is brushing up on her Russian.

As you do.

The opera's brilliant, because it starts off

with Olga's mother and the Nanny making jam.

Very Russian and rustic, I suppose.

As soon as I saw we were going to do something in Russian,

I felt, for me personally, it was a good omen.

I taught myself Russian.

It's a difficult language and the grammar is a pig,

but the words seem to stick quite easily.

"Kuda, kuda vi udalilis

"Vesni moyei zlatiye dni?"

I'm trying to find the bit where he is engaged in the duel.

He says, "Olga, Olga, please come, please come.

"My wife, my wife..."

Bang!

And that's that.

Back in Scotland, there's a visitor arriving.

Mentor Chi-Chi has asked Stirling Orchestra

to meet her at the university cinema,

where she hopes to help them really feel the power

of Madama Butterfly.

The point of this session is to try and wring out some raw emotion.

I'm done with just hearing notes.

I want to hear teardrops, I want to sense longing.

That's why I think it's a great idea to all just watch it, all together.

I've never been to the opera.

It's something I would always, maybe, have liked to have done.

I don't know anything about Madama Butterfly

apart from the little snippets that Paul told us,

so I'd love to know more about the story.

I think the orchestra is really feeling on its mettle.

This is a pretty tricky assignment for us, actually.

Hello, Stirling.

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS RESPOND

It's great to be back.

Now, the reason that I'm here is because were going to work

on this piece of Madama Butterfly.

I know a few of you have seen the opera before.

Can I see hands?

Yeah. So not...

Not even half of you.

So, every single one of you have got to find an emotional connection.

Be prepared - get your hankies ready.

So, let's see.

Geisha girl Butterfly, at just 15,

marries visiting US naval officer Pinkerton.

He leaves her, returning to America.

In the aria, Butterfly shares her dream that he will come back to her.

Of course, all ends tragically.

Butterfly realises he has a new wife and she kills herself.

Oh, dear...

Yeah.

You could hear a pin drop.

You could feel that the atmosphere just completely took over the room.

Everyone was totally engaged.

That was the first time I saw Madama Butterfly.

And it was very, very harrowing and very sad.

But I'm very glad I've watched it,

because it puts it all in context and...

A very emotional piece.

Watching the opera was amazing,

and I think it probably got through to even the most cynical Scot.

After the screening, following up on Paul's tips,

Chi-Chi also gives the technical aspects of the piece

some special attention.

Once more. So let's just really try and breathe together.

With the challenge of starting the aria off are the three trumpets,

including father and son team Fraser and Elliot.

I love playing in Stirling Orchestra with Elliot.

Whether Elliot loves playing in Stirling Orchestra with his dad,

I don't really know.

I don't really do much with Dad outside the orchestra,

because he's at work, I'm at school.

I have three brothers, one older and two younger.

We are a very musical family,

and the living room is usually full of instruments and music.

Dad tries to get me to practise with him,

but I try to do it on my own

because otherwise I get the big lectures on,

"Oh, you need to do this and do that,

"and make this better and this quieter..."

So I try and avoid him, but sometimes I can't help it.

When we got the music, it was, "How many notes have you got?

"I've only got ten notes."

And then it dawned on us how significant they were.

So breathe together on the upbeat, OK?

Who's playing first? Are you playing first?

We had a few goes, cos it was completely un-together

and nobody knew who was leading anybody.

Could you lead the section?

I won't do anything.

Yeah. Yeah.

Without talking, you've got to lead with your body and your breath.

I got the first trumpet to take responsibility.

Once more.

'It made an enormous difference.'

Thank you. That was the first time that you were together.

They completely nailed it.

I just hope that they don't panic when it comes to it,

because it's the first thing that we're going to hear.

HE HUMS MELODY

Front and centre in every orchestra is the conductor.

Dan, in Birmingham, feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

Being a conductor, for me, it's the best job in the world,

but it comes with its perils.

A lot of what we're doing, the responsibility is on me.

Really come down again on the triplets the second time round.

Paul wants us to work on precision...

There's so many little tiny details of articulation - you know,

the way you play the note, the way you start the note,

the way you end the note, the way it's connected to the next note.

In that one comment, we've got so much work to do.

In London, Chi-Chi's invited a group from the LGSO meet up.

Including one of the violinists, who also plays in one of her orchestras.

Doesn't mean you're going to get an easy ride, OK?

Paul has explained that this orchestra is elegant -

they play very well, but they're very restrained.

Now, I've got to find the key to unlock that.

I've invited someone to come along here, today,

who has got passion coming out of every single pore.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is the 17-year-old winner

of 2016 BBC Young Musician.

And he's being accompanied by his sister, Isata.

Sheku is someone who puts everything on the line.

He takes risks, he's courageous, he's brave, he's passionate.

And that's exactly what LGSO need to do.

Watching Sheku perform is just really engaging.

There was just so much to watch and the, kind of, proficiency

that he was jumping around the instrument,

to the expressions, to the movement...

I felt really inspired.

Sheku's an amazing musician.

The cello's an extension of his body.

It's very much seamless between the thoughts in his head

and how it comes out as one voice.

So, Sheku, when you play with such freedom and abandon and passion,

what's going through your mind?

I think the notes written on the page are...

I think of it as a suggestion from the composer

of how you can express the emotion

and how you communicate to the audience.

I think the rest is up to you, and it's not an exact, obviously.

I don't think, "I'm going to shake my head,

"I'm going to close my eyes here."

It's more what I think the music says to me,

and trying to communicate what I think to the audience.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Chi-chi wastes no time in ramping up the group.

Show the passion.

That's it. OK, brilliant.

That's...

Now I'm beginning to feel a little bit of red blood cells

coming out here.

Back in Devon, Sarah's doing her best to perfect her clarinet solo.

The aria is a lovely piece to play,

but it's got some tricky bits for all the woodwind.

I've got about four bars that are crucial,

that interlock with the soloist,

and I need to get them exactly in the right place.

I really, really wants to get through to the next round

and so does everybody in the orchestra.

And that puts a lot of pressure

on particularly, I think, the wind players.

So Chi-chi has invited the wind section to meet

at a special location to work on really listening to one another

so they can play as one.

We've come to these tunnels because I want the wind section

to really work on listening in great detail to each other.

So I'm going to position them away from each other.

Hi, everyone. Hi.

I've brought you to this incredible place, but not for the view.

You're not going to have the normal kind of support of your colleagues

right next to you - you're going to have to

make your ears work twice as hard.

OK? Come on, then.

Let's go into that tunnel.

I'd quite like to have Emma on horn, seeing as you have the last word,

I'd like you at the last post.

OK. Don't be too close.

You two are rather close to each other.

That's it. That's it.

That's great.

Emma? Yes. Can you hear us?

Are we coming in loud and clear?

I can hear you clearly.

OK. One, two, three, four.

One.

Being in a tunnel

and it being dark and a bit drippy, quite atmospheric.

Yes, I think playing in the tunnel did make us all listen

and really think and really count,

just really concentrate on your own part

and having to listen to each other.

Well done. So, if you can do that and play so well together,

it'll be really easy playing next to each other.

That session with Chi-Chi really highlighted the fact

that we need to listen to each other.

I think we are aware of that,

but in a cave it really stands out

when you're not listening to each other.

It definitely worked because, you know,

they were out of their normal comfort zone,

but they just adapted.

As the sun sets on the mentoring sessions,

the orchestras are on their own.

In Stirling, concerned with Paul's comment about technicality,

Jen's invited a couple of the other cellists around

for a rehearsal session...

and mother and toddler group.

You know, a couple of the girls come over to the house,

and just playing together helps us as a section to make a better sound.

I've not done technical practice since I left school.

So it feels very strange for me to now be doing very slow scales.

And down in South London,

flautists Des and Peter are practising La Boheme.

I think we need to get our head inside Musetta. Yes.

There you go. A classic example of why we need to do it.

Not even looking at the key thing that changed.

We're a little bit behind on practice for this, to be honest,

because of all the other pressures of life.

Work is really crazy at the moment, so it's really handy

just to have this little extra practice, actually, as well.

With not long to go before their final performance,

the orchestras are starting to feel the tension.

OK, can we all finish in the same place, please?

I stay awake at night because I want it to go well.

I go through it about 100 times...

you know, a day, just how I'm going to do it and trying things out.

I want to get through to the next stage.

I don't want to let the orchestra down, as well.

We need to be a lot more passionate than we have been,

so I dare say we've got that buried deep within us,

so let's bring it to the fore, shall we?

The final performance for the opera is almost upon us.

I'm quite nervous.

I hope I'm prepared enough.

I thought...

..when you sang this...

..for Paul, the difference was quite extraordinary afterwards.

It was absolutely amazing.

We had our last rehearsal and it sounded really, really good.

The only thing is will have to be really on our game tomorrow.

Say bye-bye to Mummy.

Bye-bye.

After goodbyes, Jen joins the rest of the orchestra

to travel down to Manchester.

While flautist Douglas gives them a proper fanfare.

After just three weeks of rehearsals,

the day of their final performance

at the home of Manchester's famous Halle Orchestra is here.

So this is our opera house for today.

This is the fantastic space where our four remaining orchestras -

the Stirling Orchestra, the North Devon Sinfonia,

the London Gay Symphony Orchestra and The People's Orchestra -

will be vying with each other to impress our judge, Paul.

They have all been working so hard again,

but only three of them can go through to the next round.

For one of them, this is where they'll be taking their final bows.

So, Paul, with all the orchestras we're going to see today,

what is it you are looking for

that'll make them a good opera orchestra?

Playing opera, suddenly it's one little phrase, one detail,

one line that the singer sings that you have to follow.

It's a very fragile business. But at the same time,

you have to have this fantastic passion, as well.

All the orchestras are accompanying singers from the Royal Opera House

on the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme.

They have just one 30 minute rehearsal together

before it's time to stand and deliver.

Up first, it's the Stirling Orchestra.

It's quite scary to perform with a professional singer

that we've never met before, we've never performed or practised with,

so we've got half an hour to have a run through with the singer.

I think it'll be a really concentrated half-hour.

Got a lot of things that we need to work on.

And the pressure's being felt by Fraser and Elliot.

There is pressure to start off with because we open up, don't we?

Yes. With our chord.

It could easily go wrong.

But we just hope it doesn't.

Con tutta passione, yes?

Absolutely unbridled, yes?

It will be the moment to put everything into it.

Good luck and enjoy.

Enjoy.

CHEERING

Let's talk about Stirling Orchestra.

Madama Butterfly, beautifully emotional aria.

What do they need to achieve?

What are you looking for in this piece?

They're very ambitious, they're very sensitive.

With the aria, you have to be very clever.

Clever emotionally, not kind of skilful.

They will meet the singer for the first time just before

and have a good rehearsal,

but in that rehearsal, they have to learn

about her emotional response to the aria.

It's all about this wonderful emotional story

that you're creating which you then have to transfer to the audience.

Have you been working hard?

Of course you have. I can't wait to hear it.

I don't need to remind you that, obviously,

only three of the four orchestras can go through today,

so fingers crossed, give it your best shot.

Over to you.

# Chi sara? Chi sara?

# E come sara giunto

# Che dira? Che dira?

# Chiamera Butterfly

# Dalla lontana

# Io senza dar risposta

# Me ne staro nascosta

# Un po' per celia

# Tutto questo avverra

# Te lo prometto

# Tienti la tua paura

# Io con sicura fede

# L'aspetto. #

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much. Thank you.

That's it. It's done. Paul's away.

CHEERING

I was really moved by that.

Oh, yes. I was incredibly moved.

There were still a few little technical bits.

They thought about so many little details of the aria

and they worked on them and they transferred them

into an emotional response.

There are always things that, you know,

you wish you could just have gone slightly differently.

But then there were some things that when so much better than I expected.

Oh, I'd be gutted if we got thrown out.

I really hope that Stirling has done enough.

We all so wanted to get through to the next round,

just because we're having so much fun.

Next up, it's the North Devon Sinfonia.

Slightly on edge, actually, but, no, it's fine.

Nervous, really proper nervous.

Bit sick. Haven't slept terribly well.

Yeah, not good.

If you play a few duff notes, I genuinely don't care.

But make sure that we're there with Lensky in the final moments

before he gets shot.

To the duelling ground.

You gave the North Devon Sinfonia

this aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

What are your hopes, what are your fears?

The wind have to find these lines in response to the singer.

So they have to have maximum contact

and find a way to weave their comments and their colours

into what the singer is doing with his voice.

And that's really hard at the best of times.

Go for it, give it your best shot. We can't wait to hear you.

Good luck. Thank you.

# Skhazi, pridyosh li

# Dyeva krasoti

# Slezu prolit nad rannei urnoi

# I dumat

# On menya lyubil!

# On mnye yedinoi posyatil

# Rassvyet pecialni zhizni burnoi

# Akh, Olga, ya tebya lyubil!

# Tebe yedinoi posyatil

# Rassvyet pecialni

# Zhizni burnoi

# Akh, Olga

# Ya tebya lyubil!

# Kuda, kuda, kuda vi udalilis

# Vesni moyei

# Zlatiye dni? #

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Such a shame we can't do it again, isn't it?

So, Paul, initial thoughts.

They were timid.

The wind, they have to follow those wonderful lines

that we've talked so much about

and they've rehearsed really carefully.

They did really well with those.

I was very sorry for the cellos, who just slipped up,

but it's the hardest piece of shifting.

I know it wasn't perfect, but, God!

Life isn't.

One slight corner where the cellos have got a very exposed unison line,

and it wasn't quite perfect today.

We've played better in the past,

so it's slightly disappointing not to completely nail that

on the performance.

Some of the orchestra feel a little bit flat,

so I've been telling them off and going, "You're wrong, actually."

It's really, really important for us to get through to the next round.

I think it's just been such a tremendous experience for all of us.

The London Gay Symphony Orchestra are up next.

We want to do really well.

All we can do at this point is to give our best possible performance.

Oh, seconds to go.

Hands in.

It's been a really tough few weeks for us.

You've all worked incredibly hard.

I think it's time to go and show what we can do with this one,

and let's go and be passionate.

CHEERING

Paul, the London Gay Symphony Orchestra.

You've given them this beautiful aria by Puccini.

In the first round,

you talked about them needing to open up and be more passionate,

this orchestra. They just hold back.

Somehow, when they play, it's just a little bit grey,

compared with what I'm sure they can do.

Good luck. Thank you.

# E dai palesi vezzi intender sa

# Alle occulte belta

# Cosi l'effluvio del desio

# Tutta m'aggira

# Felice mi fa!

# Felice mi fa!

# E tu che sai

# Che memori e ti struggi

# Da me tanto rifuggi?

# So ben

# Le angoscie tue non le vuoi dir

# Non le vuoi dir, so ben

# Ma ti senti morir! #

Good job, team. Thank you so much.

They were... They weren't on fire, but they were...

The spirit was fantastic.

Oh, my. Emotional. What an experience! Yes. Yeah.

At the moment, I'm feeling really scared that we're going to be out.

I don't want to go out.

I feel really emotional, actually.

It's just...

I really, really want to go through.

I've got a bit of butterflies. It would be devastating.

If Paul decided to send us home,

we would be gutted, because we put so much work into it.

Each round, the stakes are getting slightly higher

and the pressure's getting a little bit higher

and we're getting a little bit closer to the possibility

that we could win and we could end up playing at Proms In The Park.

Last up, from Birmingham, it's The People's Orchestra.

Because where such an unconventional orchestra,

it really means a lot to us to be still in this contest.

We've worked so hard to get where we are now

and I really don't know how I'd feel

if we didn't get through to the next round.

You'll be great, I know you will be.

Hip-hip! ALL: Hurray!

Paul, People's Orchestra.

You gave them Toreador from Carmen.

What are your concerns?

Well, I just want to play to their strengths,

like I do for all these orchestras.

I want them to be able to take something they can do well already

and do it better.

It's gritty, it needs to be rhythmically very tight.

They've still got to have that discipline.

So much tension.

(I can see them.)

Good luck. And enjoy.

Thank you. OK.

# Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre

# Senors, senors, car avec les soldats

# Oui, les toreros

# Peuvent s'entendre

# Pour plaisirs, pour plaisirs, ils ont les combats!

# Le cirque est plein, c'est jour de fete!

# Le cirque est plein du haut en bas

# Les spectateurs

# Perdant la tete

# Les spectateurs s'interpellent A grand fracas!

# Apostrophes, cris et tapage

# Pousses jusques a la fureur!

# Car c'est la fete du courage!

# C'est la fete des gens de coeur!

# Allons! En garde! Allons! Allons! Ah!

# Toreador, en garde!

# Toreador! Toreador!

# Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant

# Qu'un oeil noir te regarde

# Et que l'amour t'attend, Toreador

# L'amour, l'amour t'attend!

# Toreador! Toreador!

# L'amour t'attend! #

Well done, everybody. Well done.

Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

I love this orchestra.

I love everything that they stand for.

You know? I really do.

Do you think they've reached their potential?

Not with this piece. At the moment.

No. No. Not at all.

Now it's completely out of our hands,

and so I'm nervous because there's nothing much I can do about it.

I'm just waiting to hear the result.

Now that all four orchestras have performed,

Paul must make the tough decision -

who will stay and who will go?

You really were impressed by them this week, weren't you?

I thought they were the most improved of all of the orchestras.

Did they deliver?

They were very fiery.

And that's where things started to go slightly wrong for me.

Were you happy with their progress, Chi-chi?

I would have liked to have heard a stronger

and more even balance amongst the wind.

They could become a really good section, I think,

if they all step up together.

Agreed.

Waiting for the verdict are representatives from each orchestra.

The nerves are starting to build.

We're hoping for the best,

but it really is in the lap of the gods at this point.

Looking forward to hearing the feedback, whatever it is,

and, yeah, we've done everything we can,

so we just...wait and find out the result.

If we found out today that we're not going through...

..I don't really want to think about how it would feel.

Yes, it's crunch time. If the orchestra don't get it,

they will be devastated.

This is of course the difficult moment

when Paul has to decide who is staying and who is going.

He's got feedback for you all, so, Paul.

It's a pretty difficult job, playing for opera,

and I thought you all did a really great job.

Stephen. Stirling.

I remember saying to you that I thought that in this aria,

Madama Butterfly, you needed to get the orchestra to connect emotionally

to every single note, and you did it.

But towards the end,

at the climax,

the orchestra slightly loses control.

Emma. North Devon Sinfonia.

We talked a lot about the wind solos, didn't we, at the beginning?

And I think you did a great job.

That little cello slip,

it matters not a bit, as long as they just carried on.

Chris, London Gay Symphony Orchestra.

The one thing that was missing before, for me,

was a kind of emotional confidence.

I thought today they kind of just pushed the door open for...

"Oh, we can enjoy ourselves."

So I'm hoping it's not just a one-off.

And The People's Orchestra, Dan, really well done.

This aria has to be athletic.

They were very athletic.

I have one but.

The tempo was a little bit rushed.

It wasn't as precise and as crisp as I'm sure it could be.

So, I do have to decide, nevertheless,

that one orchestra will not be continuing to the next round.

And I'm very sorry to say that that orchestra will be...

..The People's Orchestra.

Dan, I'm really sorry.

It's been a great pleasure to have you on board,

and you've gone so far in this.

Really, really well done.

Sarah, thanks very much.

Not a problem. You're a fantastic bunch.

Thanks a lot. Thank you.

He remarked that we didn't focus on the precision

as much as he wanted.

He said some amazing things.

He said he really liked the spirit of the orchestra,

which is what we're all about, isn't it?

Yes.

I'm really sad to see The People's Orchestra go.

I think they've got so much to be proud of.

To have got to this round,

I think they've got a lot to hold their heads up about.

I love that orchestra. They're such a great orchestra.

They stand for everything that is great about amateur music-making

and they have been so good,

but in those two minutes, the one thing that let them down

was the thing that we asked for,

and that precision, that rhythmical position,

which they're very capable of, they didn't deliver it.

We got through.

CHEERING OVER PHONE

Well, cancel your summer holidays. We're through.

CHEERING

This is the result of the Manchester jury.

'I'm sorry to tell everybody that we are through...'

CHEERING

Next time, the orchestras tackle the concerto

and choose a soloist from their ranks.

It's crunch time now. You've got to make a decision.

They'll be playing to a home crowd,

but now the contest is getting personal...

We're not quite on it, he's not quite on it,

and the result is carnage.

..as they battle it out for a place in the final.

The one orchestra that's not going to go forward is...