The professor has been awarded the grant to fund a new opera research project
Guildhall Professor Dr Toby Young has been awarded the Future Leaders Fellowship by UK Research & Innovation. This prestigious fellowship includes a grant of £1.4 million, which will support Dr Young’s new research project titled ‘Immersive Opera’. The project aims to explore immersive performance practices and technologies in opera.
In collaboration with immersive theatre company Punchdrunk Enrichment and partners including the National Opera Studio, Opera North, Royal Ballet & Opera, and Scottish Opera, Dr Young will develop training resources and workshops to help opera companies implement and advance immersive opera. The project will focus on exploring Extended Reality, incorporating Spatial Audio, audio-mapping, and visual and haptic interfaces to foster more interactive and participatory productions.
Dr Toby Young commented, “Opera is a powerful and emotionally compelling art form, but as a sector, we are facing significant challenges around perceived relevance, accessibility, and financial and environmental sustainability. Working together with the opera community, this project will develop and test innovative approaches to operatic performance and composition that enhance our existing traditions rather than try and reinvent them.”
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