ALEX BEARD LEADS PANEL TO SELECT
EMILY HALL AS WINNER OF
CORINTHIA HOTEL LONDON’S
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE COMPETITION
EMILY HALL SELECTED FOR RESIDENCY TO PRODUCE BRAND NEW SITE RESPONSIVE OPERA PROJECT AT CORINTHIA HOTEL LONDON OPENING IN SEPTEMBER
(May 7, 2015) Ground-breaking composer Emily Hall has been selected from eleven finalists to produce a site responsive opera piece at the Corinthia Hotel London. After entering the hotel’s Artist in Residence competition – a search to find a composer or company to produce a brand new opera inspired piece inside the distinguished five star hotel- Emily Hall’s idea was selected by a panel of music and arts industry leaders.
The artists had all responded to a brief for a site-responsive, opera themed work, with nowhere in the hotel off limits. The winner was chosen this morning at the Corinthia London by a panel which included opera luminaries Alex Beard CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Joseph Calleja, internationally acclaimed award-winning tenor and James Conway, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of English Touring Opera among others.
Emily Hall’s vision, currently titled Seek and Hide, will use recordings and live performers to weave the sound and language of the hotel into a sonic tapestry that seeps into the very fabric of the building. On receiving the prize she said: I am delighted to be able to create something that everyone here can come back and enjoy.
Alex Beard said: It has been immensely difficult to select a winner from such an experienced and exciting shortlist but a huge pleasure to see so many bold ideas and new adaptations. I hope people who experience the finished production will be as excited and surprised as I was by the vision. I very much look forward to coming back in September to see the finished piece.
Corinthia Hotel London Senior Commercial Director Matthew Dixon said: Over the last four years our Artist in Residence program has meant the Corinthia Hotel London has found a way to support some of the best new British talent in the arts. I’m delighted to see the program grow year on year.
Following a month’s residency over this summer in which Emily Hall will immerse herself in the workings of the hotel, the project will premiere to audiences and guests alike in September of this year.
The announcement marks the fourth Artist in Residence competition at Corinthia. Previous residencies saw winning commissions from aspiring filmmakers Zawe Ashton and David Petch (2014), immersive theater company Look Left Look Right (2013) and photographic artist Noémie Goudal (2012).
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Full judging panel: Alex Beard CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House; Joseph Calleja, internationally acclaimed award-winning tenor; James Conway, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of English Touring Opera; Susanna Eastburn OBE, Chief Executive of Sound and Music; Imogen Tilden, Classical Music Editor at the Guardian; Jenny Waldman, 14-18 NOW Director; Timothy Walker, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Fiona Harris, Director of International Public Relations, Corinthia Hotels.
About Emily Hall
Emily Hall’s music is formed from close creative relationships with singers and writers, taking as much from classical as it does from folk. In 2005, she was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Award, later receiving the Genesis Opera Prize in 2006. Her award winning film-operaThe Nightingale and the Rose, was written for Streetwise Opera with filmmaker Gaelle Denis. Her first opera, Sante, was premiered at LSO St Luke’s and her World War One Centenary choral piece,Gastenboek, was premiered at Budapest Palace of Arts by the Hungarian Radio Choir and then performed at Cite de la Musique, Paris and The Sage, Gateshead. Her most recent work is Folie a Deux, which is touring in 2015.
About Corinthia Artist in Residence
A cultural program, now in its fourth year, that supports emerging talent and the arts. The first residency in 2012 saw artist Noémie Goudal create large-scale works of art which used the hotel’s environment as their starting point and aimed to transport viewers to other worlds. In 2013 the Corinthia Artist in Residence winner was theater company, Look Left Look Right, who created an immersive play drawing on the hotel’s history and interviews with the staff. The play, Above & Beyond, lasted 70 minutes taking place across 30 spaces within and around the Corinthia whilst the hotel was fully operational. The play was open to the general public and tickets sold out within the first week. The play launched to critical acclaim and was extended by an extra week. Last year’s residency saw Zawe Ashton and David Petch, the joint winners of the Corinthia Artist in Residence 2014, create two short films – ‘The Place We Go To Hide’ by Zawe Ashton and ‘We Always Do What We Want’ by David Petch – which were inspired by ‘The Power of Sleep’ theme, having evolved out the filmmakers’ experiences and reflections of life within a hotel.
About Corinthia Hotel London
Housed within a Victorian building, 294 rooms including 36 suites and 7 penthouses offer sweeping views across London’s most popular landmarks. Corinthia Hotel London provides unrivaled world-class luxury with superb ground floor offerings including restaurant The Northall, serving the best in British produce throughout the day; modern Italian cuisine at Massimo Restaurant and the musically inspired Bassoon Bar.The new Garden Lounge offers all-day dining options in an exotic David Collins designed garden landscape, and a comprehensive cigar and spirits menu for late night entertaining. Corinthia London is also home to the flagship ESPA Life at Corinthia, a next-generation spa housed across four floors, together with a hair salon by Daniel Galvin. The hotel boasts the largest room sizes in London, original restored Victorian columns and tall windows that let in swathes of natural light. Cutting edge technology in rooms and meeting rooms allow for recording, mixing and broadcasting from dedicated media rooms. Corinthia London is a 21st century grand hotel located in the heart of London, created by experts with a passion for craftsmanship and an understanding of world-class service. Corinthia London is the ninth of Corinthia Hotels’ collection of five-star hotels founded by the Pisani family of Malta. For more information, please visit corinthia.com or visit Twitter @corinthialondon or Instagram #corinthialondon.
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