I so enjoyed the time I had with my mother, when she was here to visit me from Denmark last week! The most spectacular event was by far our evening at The Royal Albert Hall. 

I already booked tickets for this evening a long time ago, as Christmas events in London are very popular, so you have to be quick – especially for this particular event, which was all about getting in the festive spirit.

Here I am – ready to sing my heart out!

The theme of the night was Christmas Classics sung by The Royal Choral Society and the audience attending (I was a bit nervous since I don’t know many British Christmas songs!) Furthermore we had the pleasure of tunes from The Royal Concert Orchestra and Fanfare Trumpeters of the Band of the Coldstream Guards

All set and ready! This was such a beautiful sight… I am so impressed by this building. It is seriously breathtaking! 

Since the opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world’s leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on The Royal Albert Hall’s stage and it has become one of the England’s most treasured and distinctive buildings. Royal Albert Hall is also famously known for the Proms concerts and it has a capacity of up to 5,272 seats.

If you have purchased tickets for seats in a Grand Tier, Loggia and Second Tier box,  you can actually enhance your experience by ordering food and drink to your box to enjoy before the show or during the interval! (we didn’t get a private box, but I certainly wouldn’t mind trying it one fine day) 

Here is the programme! Some songs were only sung by the choir – and the rest were for us to join (and we had to stand up each time!)

We were seated at The Stalls and had a perfect view. I highly recommend these seats as you won’t miss a thing!

Mother and daughter selfie!

It is not that easy to describe how I felt, when the entire audience stood up and started singing “The National Anthem” accompanied by the orchestra and choir. I honestly had tears in my eyes and could hardly sing myself, because I was greatly touched by the scenery! I remember thinking how much I love my new country and how grateful I was being part of this amazing experience (God save the Queen indeed!) Looking at my mother and her Kleenex it was obvious that I was not alone in feeling quite emotional.

Unfortunately I can’t post videos here, but if I could, you will know exactly, what I mean. However there are a few videos on my Instagram, if you would like to listen to the tunes. 

The lovely Sir Anthony Robbins came on stage a few times to do some readings from “The birth of infant Jesus” and “A visit from St. Nicholas” . He did a splendid job! I took a trip back memory lane, when I was a child waiting for Christmas presents! 

To my pleasant surprise I actually knew most of the songs – and I really loved the “Suite” and “Waltz of the flowers” from my favourite ballet “The Nutcracker” by P. Tchaikovsky.

The acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall used to suffer badly from an unfortunate echo caused by the cove of its ceiling. The problem was tackled by hanging fibreglass acoustic diffusers (fondly nicknamed ‘mushrooms’) from the auditorium ceiling.

The evening ended beautifully with the tunes of “Silent Night, holy night” and the entire room was enlightened only by the “candles” carried by the choir. 

I really had the most extraordinary evening at The Royal Albert Hall. It is so hard to describe this wonderful experience without being able to post videos! I can only say, that an entire packet of Kleenex was used, and my mother and I left The Royal Albert Hall happy, singing and more than ready to book tickets for other events. This certainly is a must-see place for everybody – young and old! 

X Louise