A right Royal return
The Royal Albert Hall reopened on ‘ Freedom Day ’ with a 150th anniversary concert that will go down in history as yet another remarkable moment at the stunning London venue . Access goes behind the scenes .
Words : Christopher Barrett
With £ 60 million in lost ticket sales income , £ 10m in ticket refunds and having taken a £ 20m loan from the Government due to the pandemic , the team at the Royal Albert Hall deserved a little luck .
Having pushed back the venue ’ s 150th Anniversary Concert from its 29 March birthday to 19 July , the 5,272-capacity Hall became one of the first venues in England to welcome a full audience .
“ It was pure serendipity ,” says Royal Albert Hall director of external affairs Louise Halliday . “ We were expecting to be at full capacity back in June and then it was announced that it was being pushed back to 19 July – we all looked at each other on Zoom and thought : ‘ Oh my , this just couldn ’ t be a more perfect way to celebrate the anniversary and reopening at full capacity ’.”
With the Hall having been closed for the first time since the Blitz , the event merely taking place was a major landmark , but the focus on the night was celebrating the many landmarks in the Italianate-style Hall ’ s long and fascinating history .
Soundtrack composer David Arnold had been commissioned to write a piece for the concert and the result was A Circle of Sound – a composition consisting of 10 movements that individually focused on separate aspects of the Hall ’ s past .
The themes of each of the 10 movements ranged from the Hall ’ s role during the Suffragettes campaign , its history as a centre for scientific discussion and demonstration , its hosting of 1,200 sporting events and it being synonymous with the BBC Proms to the many landmark gigs there .
Accompanying the music was archive film footage presented on a big screen by production house White Stone Media , while the likes of Melanie C , Michael Sheen , Brian Cox , Claudia Winkleman and Charles Dance took to the stage to present readings about each movement penned by writers Neil Gaiman , Jack Thorne , Dorian Lynskey and Joe Penhall .
Just like its delivery on the night , the composition was far from a solo effort . While working on the piece , Arnold spent more than a year collaborating with local choirs , schools and other community groups who took to the stage with support from the venue ’ s in-house Albert ’ s Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain . The event was produced by creative agency , People .
Halliday admits that the evening was not only triumphant but a little terrifying : “ We didn ’ t know how it was going to go , everyone was a bit rusty because we had been closed for so long so we had to get everyone trained and into the swing of having 5,000 people back in the venue . On top of the rustiness , we also had all of the additional Covid requirements and
the fact that both staff and audience were a bit nervous . It was a brilliant , terrifying and emotional day .”
The venue ’ s comeback concert was an uplifting evening for all involved , including Arnold , but he says he was far from an obvious choice to orchestrate the music . The composer is renowned for his work on five James Bond films , blockbusters such as Independence Day and TV hits including Sherlock – but not concerts . “ I was surprised they asked me because I am not a concert composer . The world ’ s greatest composers have appeared at the venue and their music is still played there , but I was super excited because I love the hall so much ,” he says .
With the venue almost entirely shut for 16 months , aside from hosting a few live-streamed shows , Arnold had the run of the venue and says he found the opportunity for quiet contemplation in the building inspiring . “ To be granted
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