The Classic BRITs 2011

For a moment, the ghost of the BRITs' mishap-past visited the Classic BRITs when a chorus girl's microphone remained on, broadcasting her backstage views to a packed Royal Albert Hall. Mylene Klass did her best to talk over the interruption, which was favourable and expletive-free. It wasn't quite Sam Fox reading out of focus and inaccurate auto-cues, but it accidentally provided the evening with some intimacy it had been hereto lacking.

There is no escaping that Classic BRITs is the pop Brits lesser cousin, but in many ways it is better suited to the evening's sense of occasion. The London Chamber Orchestra under conductor Christopher Warren-Green accompanied each elegant performance with aplomb, while the pristine sound was a huge improvement on the O2's in February.

Il Divo opened proceedings with the world premier of the astounding 'Dov'è L'Amore' (where is the love?), which weaves new melody lines into Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' (familiar to fans of the film Platoon). It's stirring stuff, the kind of thing to play as 747s land triumphantly through Gatwick's fog. Sébastien Izambard's recent description of their sound as popera, may make them the spork of classical music, but even detractors must admit the performance 'Dov'è L'Amore' was particularly breathtaking. As their microphones dropped in choreographed unison to their sides, it was apparent on whose side the Royal Albert Hall audience fell.

The Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang was presented with Best Newcomer before the cast of Les Misérables draped across the stage for a medley including a particularly rousing 'Bring Him Home'. Mylene Klass began announcing the next guest, only to be interrupted by the sound of gossiping and "let's do it again!" from the microphone of a Les Misérables chorus girl. The mic. was silenced and the guilty party presumably chastised, while Mylene adlibbed in relief that "it wasn't just in my head." It rather overshadowed the arrival of Laurence Llewelyn and his hair, which presented the nominations for Female Artist of the Year: won by British trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom on the strength of her Italian Concertos.

Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant (co-writer of Shirley Bassey's recent 'Performance of my Life') named Estonian Arvo Part as Composer of the Year; his first Classic Brit since 2003 and whose speech was characteristically colourful in describing the influences on writing his 4th symphony.

Following an interval spent not treading on the hems of ball gowns, Angela Rippon announced British conductor Antonio Pappano Male Artist of the Year, after complimenting the Royal Albert Hall for not having an "Arctic Monkey in sight". Pappano thanked the "important and not so important people," thankfully without naming names, before Julian Lloyd Webber announced the Critics Award as the one "we really most want to win". Tasmin Little's acceptance speech urged for music to be taught in schools. The sublime Eric Whitacre Singers performance of 'Sleep' was a highlight of the evening as it gentle choral textures wooed the audience with a lullaby that did all but put us to sleep.

News reader John Suchet successfully announced the 10 nominees for Album of the Year without it sounding like bad news, and the award was won by violinist André Rieu for 'Moonlight Serenade' that topped the classical charts for much of last year. Despite being absent, his video message declared "it has been a truly wonderful night" and urged us to "keep waltzing."

The evening was closed by the Duchess of Cornwall co-presenting John Barry's posthumous prize with British actress Virginia McKenna (who starred in Born Free), for which Barry won his first Oscar. Barry's co-writer/lyricist Don Black received the award, describing Barry as having "been thrilled as he was a great lover of classical music", and who named only classical pieces on his Desert Island Discs (his luxury item by the way, was a grand piano.)