news | Philip Venables

Denis & Katya announced at Wiener Kammeroper

7 May 2023

On the same day as our wonderful premiere of Denis & Katya in Pittsburgh, Musiktheater an der Wein announced their new production of Denis & Katya to open their 2023/24 season at the Wiener Kammeroper. The production of the german-language translation by…

Portrait photo by Paul Festa

9 April 2023

A new headshot by fellow artist and writer Paul Festa, taken in his yet-to-be-renovated loft in Berlin. This can be used for promotion with a credit to the photographer. High resolution is in the press pack, here.

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions at Manchester International Festival

14 March 2023

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions has just been announced by Factory International as part of this year’s Manchester International Festival. This will be the world premiere, on 29th June 2023. Step into a world where fables and myths…

Denis & Katya in Top 10 most performed new operas globally

13 March 2023

Denis & Katya has been cited as in the top ten most performed contemporary operas across the world in the last seven years. The citation has come from a wide survey of performances of opera made in collaboration between Operabase…

Game Show Music premiere at Weimar’s Passion: SPIEL Festival

2 March 2023

Game Show Music will celebrate its world premiere in the show PLAYING ANIMAL FARM at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar on 29th April 2023. Game Show Music is a suite of music in the style of TV or Game Show music,…

Naomo Pinnetuo released by Royal Academy of Music

19 December 2022

In celebration of their 200th Anniversary, the Royal Academy of Music asked 200 composers for birthday-gift compositions for solo instruments. To celebrate our friendship, which began at the Academy in 2002, Naomi Pinnock and I both chose to write for…

Performance photos of Answer Machine Tape, 1987

7 December 2022

We’ve just completed the run of premiere performances of Answer Machine Tape, 1987 with the four co-commissioning festivals: Time of Music in Finland, November Music in the Netherlands, hcmf// in the UK and the Festival d’Automne à Paris. Thanks to…

Portrait photo by Étienne Grandon

3 December 2022

A new headshot / press image by Étienne Grandon, taken on a vintage Yashica camera. This can be used for promotion with a credit to the photographer. A higher-resolution is available on request, contact here.

Profile by Tayyab Amin for hcmf//

23 November 2022

I was very fortunate to be featured this year at hcmf// across three concerts of my most recent works: Answer Machine Tape, 1987, performed and commissioned by Zubin Kanga; Numbers 81–100, performed and commissioned by Lovemusic; and My Favourite Piece…

“The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions” at Aix-en-Provence Festival

23 November 2022

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions, has just been announced by Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France, in July 2023. This will not be the world premiere (which is still to be announced), but will be the European premiere. The music…

“The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions” announced at Bregenz Festival

17 November 2022

My next opera, The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions, has just been announced by Bregenz Festival in Austria, in July 2023. This will not be the world premiere (which is still to be announced), but will be the Austrian…

Press images of Denis & Katya in Amsterdam by Milagro Elstak

5 November 2022

Some production images from the Dutch National Opera production of Denis & Katya, March 2022, on the enormous main stage of the opera house in Amsterdam, as part of the Opera Forward Festival. The singers Inna Demenkova and Michael Wilmering, with…

Below the Belt one of BBC Music Magazine’s ’30 must-have albums’

30 September 2022

BBC Music Magazine is celebrating its 30th Birthday this year, and as part of the celebrations they have chosen Below The Belt as one of their 30 “Must-Have Albums of our Lifetime”. In the week when the UK’s financial and…

Answer Machine Tape, 1987

25 September 2022

Trailer video of excertpts (with non-contiguous edits) This is the catalogue page for Answer Machine Tape, 1987. Answer Machine Tape, 1987 after David Wojnarowicz Answer Machine Tape, 1987 is dedicated to Joséphine Markovits with great appreciation for her friendship and…

Naomo Pinnetuo

25 September 2022

This is the catalogue page for Naomo Pinnetuo Naomo Pinnetuo was written for the Royal Academy of Music. as a gift on their 200th Birthday. It is dedicated to Naomi Pinnock and the Royal Academy of Music. The first performance will…

More dates announced for ‘Answer Machine Tape, 1987’

14 September 2022

Answer Machine Tape, 1987, my a new work for piano and multimedia, has more performances announced this autumn. Zubin Kanga, who commissioned the piece, will perform the work at the following places: 12th November 2022 — House73 Courtroom in ‘s-Hertogenbosch,…

4.48 Psychose revival at the Semperoper Dresden

14 September 2022

The Semperoper in Dresden has announced a third run of performances of 4.48 Psychose, postponed from 2021. The opera had its german premiere run at Semper Zwei in April/May 2018, with sold-out performances. The dates next season will be 16,…

Two-part interview with Will Davenport / ConnectsMusic

6 August 2022

I was delighted to speak to Will Davenport earlier this year about my work in the context of LGBTQI+ issues, particularly focussing on my operas and my work with David Hoyle. This two-part interview features on the ConnectsMusic platform as…

Excellent reviews for Denis & Katya in Hannover

5 July 2022

The German premiere of Denis & Katya happened earlier this year, in a new german-language version of the opera, commissioned by the Niedersächsische Staatsoper in Hannover. The production took place in Ballhof Eins, and featured two singers from the young…

‘Answer Machine Tape, 1987’ premiere, Time of Music

30 June 2022

Answer Machine Tape, 1987 — a new work for piano and multimedia — has its first performance on 8th July 2022 at Time of Music Festival (Musiikin Aika) in Viitasaari, Finland, given by Zubin Kanga. The festival is programming a…