Maestro at the Opera

In episode one actress Josie Lawrence, Oxford professor of mathematics Marcus du Sautoy, DJ Trevor Nelson and Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood embark on a crash course in conducting opera. In a climax gala concert the four students must each conduct an operatic aria in full, with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House deciding which conductor will leave the competition.

In episode two, the three remaining students are introduced to the enormous challenge of conducting fully staged opera. After a period of rehearsal, each must conduct a famous scene with the Jette Parker Young Artists and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. In a climactic performance at the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden, it is the members of the orchestra themselves who will ultimately decide which conductor must leave the competition.

It is the final on Maestro At The Opera and after another well-known personality has left the competition, the remaining two would-be-conductors go head-to-head in the quest to master the ultimate art form - Opera. The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden opens its doors for the last time as the two finalists battle it out for the ultimate prize - the chance to conduct a whole act of a legendary opera at the world famous Royal Opera House, in front of a discerning audience of over two thousand. In the series climax the final challenge is revealed to the would-be maestros - to conduct Act II of Puccini's masterpiece La Boheme. In order to decide who is worthy of the honour, the two apprentice conductors must compete against each other, conducting the same extract of La Boheme. To prepare for this, the final two travel to the birthplace of opera - Italy. Here they attend the world-renowned Georg Solti Accademia, at Villa San Michele in Florence, to receive intensive final tuition from leading expert conductors and operatic singers. Lastly a visit to Puccini's house in Lucca, Tuscany, helps the final two trainees to be inspired by the genius behind the music of Boheme. Then, returning to the Opera House, the two student conductors pick up their batons for what could be the last time, when Sir Mark Elder, alongside the ROH orchestra, decide who is deserving of a place on the podium to conduct the entire act on the main stage at Covent Garden. There can only be one winner; there can only be one Maestro at the Opera.