News archive 2006

World premiere of King's composer's first opera

22 November 2006, PR 152/06

Into the Little Hill, composed by George Benjamin, the internationally renowned composer and conductor and Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King's, premieres in Paris tonight (22 November). The opera marks the centrepiece of a retrospective of Professor Benjamin's works by the 35th Festival d'Automne.

The opera is a collaboration between George Benjamin and the English playwright Martin Crimp. The lyrical tale is based on an old story of a pact made between a statesman and a bizarre stranger before an election, and the consequences suffered when, once elected, the statesman does not honour his promise. The opera is written for two voices with the multiple parts sung by Anu Komsi and Hilary Summers. Franck Ollu conducts the Ensemble Modern orchestra.

Commissioned by the Paris Festival d'Automne and other partners, there are two further performances of Into the Little Hill at the Opera Bastille, Paris. The Festival d'Automne was created in 1972 by Michel Guy, Georges Pompidou's Minister of Culture and has become a world-renowned celebration of new music, theatre, visual arts and dance. The opera will tour to Amsterdam, New York, Frankfurt, Liverpool and Vienna over the next two years.

Since George Benjamin's appointment as the Henry Purcell Professor of Composition in 2001 he has had a number of celebrations of his work. The London Symphony Orchestra devoted a series of nine concerts throughout their 2002-3 season to Professor Benjamin's music, entitled BY GEORGE! There have also been major retrospectives of his work in Brussels, Tokyo, Berlin, Strasbourg and Madrid.

He first came to public prominence when his work Ringed by the Flat Horizon was performed at the BBC Promenade Concerts in 1980. His other acclaimed works include A Mind of Winter, At First Light, Antara, Upon Silence, Three Inventions, Viola, Viola and Palimpsest.

Professor Benjamin has recently been awarded the fourth Roche Commission. The commission, from healthcare group Roche, is for work from outstanding composers of contemporary music. The world premiere of this composition will be performed on 30 August 2008 as part of the Lucerne Festival Summer in Switzerland.

Notes to editors

The Festival d'Automne
The Festival d'Automne, a not-for-profit organization, commissions and presents original and experimental work not previously produced in France. It provides access to non-western cultures by featuring major presentations from a variety of different countries.

Further performances of Professor Benjamin works during the Festival d'Automne include:

George Benjamin, Three Inventions and At First Light, and Wolfgang Rihm Gedrängte Form performed by the Ensemble Modern conducted by George Benjamin.
27 November, Opéra national de Paris – Bastille / Amphithéâtre

George Benjamin Palimpsest and Dance Figures, Alexandre Scriabine Poème de l'extase, Maurice Ravel Daphne et Chloe – 2nd suite performed by the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris conducted by George Benjamin.
19 December, Opéra National de Paris – Bastille
www.festival-automne.com

King's College London
King's College London is the fourth oldest university in England with more than 13,700 undergraduates and nearly 5,600 graduate students in nine schools of study based at five London campuses. It is a member of the Russell Group: a coalition of the UK's major research-based universities. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, international relations, medicine, nursing and the sciences, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to four Medical Research Council Centres – more than any other university.

King's is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings, with income from grants and contracts of more than £100 million, and has an annual turnover of more than £363 million.

Further information
Public Relations Office, King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 3202 Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk

 

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