Broadway mainstay Stephen Sondheim was met with a standing ovation at the BBC Proms on Saturday at the end of a concert held to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, performers included Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench and opera star Bryn Terfel.
Songs from Sondheim musicals such as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Company and Follies were performed at the concert.
“There’s very little as thrilling as a full orchestra in a reverberant hall,” said Sondheim at a pre-concert question and answer session.
The concert saw Dame Judi sing Send In The Clowns from A Little Night Music and the 75-year-old returned later for the closing performance, a rousing rendition performed by the ensemble of Side By Side By Side from Company.
Welsh bass-baritone Terfel performed a medley of numbers from Sweeney Todd.
The Sondheim favourite was transformed by Tim Burton into a big-screen adaptation in 2007 and boasted an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall.
Later, Terfel took part in a comic song from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum much to the delight of the crowd.
Also participating in the event were stars from the West End such as Maria Friedman, Jenna Russell, Julian Ovenden and Simon Russell Beale.
This was also the first Prom to be signed for deaf concert-goers.
Sondheim has become one of the most popular and revered figures in musical theatre since making his Broadway debut in 1957 as the writer of the lyrics for West Side Story.
A London revival of Into the Woods opens soon at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, while September will see the Donmar Warehouse in London stage his 1994 show Passion.
