SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2014

SUN 19:00 Don Giovanni from the Royal Opera House (b0425y3c)
Covent Garden present their highly-acclaimed production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, a depiction of the last day and night of the most iconic of seducers, in a thrilling new interpretation directed by the Royal Opera's Kasper Holten.

Womanizing his way through Europe with his hapless manservant Leporello in tow, Don Giovanni uses his imagination and charisma to charm and bed thousands of women in an effort to find inspiration for creative work and to keep at bay his dread of mortality.

After seducing Donna Anna, Don Giovanni is challenged to a duel by her furious father the Commendatore, whom he kills. This immoral act sets in motion a chain of events - some comic, some tragic - which lead to Don Giovanni's worst nightmare - absolute isolation and loneliness. This darkly humorous production both reveals the comedy that runs throughout Mozart's masterpiece and examines the more profound aspects of the opera and its characters.

Acclaimed designer Es Devlin, whose recent work includes the 2012 Olympic closing ceremony, has created a visually innovative universe for this new interpretation. Her sets evoke the complex and volatile puzzle that is Don Giovanni's psyche, and the accompanying video projections produce an intense and powerful display of illusion. Costumes both take us to an elegant 19th-century world and reflect the characters' increasingly troubled psyches. Italian conductor Nicola Luisotti returns to conduct this richly inventive score.

The magnificent cast includes baritone Mariusz Kwiecien in the role of Don Giovanni, with Italian bass-baritone Alex Esposito as his long-suffering and reluctantly admiring servant Leporello. Don Giovanni has been a firm favourite with audiences since its premiere in Prague in 1787, and this new production reflects both the humour and complexity of this great opera.


SUN 22:00 Sting: When the Last Ship Sails (b03n2gh6)
Sting performs songs from his album The Last Ship in an intimate live performance recorded at the Public Theatre, New York. Inspired by the shipbuilding community of Wallsend in the north east of England where Sting was born and raised, the songs form part of his Broadway play. For his first new work in a decade he and his band, many of whom hail from the north east, are joined by actor and singer Jimmy Nail.


SUN 23:20 The Joy of Easy Listening (b011g614)
In-depth documentary investigation into the story of a popular music genre that is often said to be made to be heard but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life.

From its emergence in the 50s to its heyday in the 60s, through its survival in the 70s and 80s and its revival in the 90s and beyond, the film traces the hidden history of a music that has reflected society every bit as much as pop and rock - just in a more relaxed way.

Invented at the dawn of rock 'n' roll, easy listening has shadowed pop music and the emerging teenage market since the mid-50s. It is a genre that equally soundtracks our modern age, but perhaps for a rather more 'mature' generation and therefore with its own distinct purpose and aesthetic.

Contributors include Richard Carpenter, Herb Alpert, Richard Clayderman, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimmy Webb, Mike Flowers, James Last and others.


SUN 00:50 The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney (p01t6p94)
Episode 2

Martha discovers a bee with deformed wing virus in one of the hives she has set up on a Suffolk wildflower meadow. With the help of a master beekeeper, she treats the hive for verroa mite. Britain's leading bee scientist explains the role of verroa in the decline of bees throughout the country.

As spring arrives, Martha witnesses the growth of the colony and watches as bee larvae hatch out. She investigates the science behind the decline of the honey bee and examines evidence that pesticides may be to blame. Back at her cottage, she tackles a colony of angry bees by replacing their queen with a more mild-mannered individual ordered online and delivered through the post, and she meets the Archbishop of Canterbury to talk about his family's love of beekeeping and why he told the bees about his girlfriends.


SUN 01:20 Neil Diamond: Solitary Man (b00vzzst)
A 60-minute documentary including an interview and exclusive location filming with Neil Diamond in New York and Los Angeles. Robbie Robertson, Jeff Barry, Mickey Dolenz and other contributors track Neil from his childhood in Brooklyn to his early days in the Brill Building, his nascent solo career and superstardom in the early 70s, the lean years of the 80s, his career reboot via Rick Rubin in the noughties and his Glastonbury success.


SUN 02:20 Electric Proms (b00vzzsw)
2010

Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond in concert from London's Roundhouse with his six-piece band performing tracks from his 2010 album Dreams, which explores the 60s and 70s songs he loves, and reinventing his classics. This is Neil Diamond stripped down with strings in his most intimate performance for years.


SUN 03:25 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01gymg9)
Reggae - Stir it Up

By the start of the 70s, the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the UK from the Caribbean and West Indies were an established part of the British population and their influence and culture permeated UK society.

This second programme rejoices and revels in the reggae music exported from Jamaica and the home-grown reggae-influenced sounds that sprouted from the cities of England. Reggae's dominance of the UK charts is celebrated with performances from Ken Boothe, Dave and Ansel Collins, Steel Pulse, Althea and Donna, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Janet Kay, Susan Cadogan and The Specials.