NEW WORKS COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce the winner of our inaugural New Works Competition. After much deliberation, our esteemed jury comprising Martyn Brabbins, Sir David Pountney and Claire Rutter have awarded the prize to:

Evan Henry (Composer) and John Klaess (Librettist) for “Algorithms”

Algorithms impressed the jury with a pertinent story that was told with humour and yet with a deep sadness. Musically, the works submitted contained a strong sense of melodic line, dance-like rhythms and Jazz-inspired harmonies.

The piece was designed to be based on a topic relevant to society today. From the submission: “We put an astonishing amount of faith in algorithms. Everything from our music suggestions to whether or not we qualify for a mortgage is subject to automated procedures. Outcomes are determined by inscrutable and proprietary lines of code, and there are few areas of life that aren’t in some way impacted by algorithm-driven software. This opera asks a simple question: What if our mortal fate was determined by the vagaries of a sorting algorithm?”

Martyn Brabbins thought, “It is a massively relevant topic and the music is handled with such sophistication and quirky humour”. Sir David Pountney agreed suggesting that the music “is quite brilliant…very imaginative, quirky and dramatic”. Claire Rutter also described the piece as “lyrical and accessible” and said the piece has “a simple, amusing approach to the story and it doesn’t pull you into despair as it unfolds!”

Having submitted excerpts to the jury, the piece will now be written to completion and will be performed live and filmed for online viewing by Random Opera as part of their 2022 season.

For more details on the competition, visit https://randomopera.co.uk/new-works-competition