The Royal Albert Hall: a Case Study of an Evolving Cultural Venue
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The Royal Albert Hall: A Case Study of an Evolving Cultural Venue Fiona Joy Gibbs Awarding Institution: Royal College of Music PhD January 2018 Abstract Scholarship concerning the importance of understanding audiences and venues for music has developed a great deal over the last two decades. This thesis examines one element of this research: the importance of the venue as a space for culture. The Royal Albert Hall, a world–famous but little–understood venue, acts as case study for this text. Through a mixed–methods approach, this thesis seeks to answer four questions concerning the relationship between a public space and the events it hosts in the case of the RAH explicitly: What factors have affected the identity of the RAH as a public venue? How have these changed during the Hall’s existence? How do these factors affect the events which the Hall hosts? Does a space affect what happens inside it? These questions will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of how a fixed cultural space can be repeatedly reshaped by multiple, often overlooked, factors as well as the extent to which these factors can affect the identity of a venue. ii Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements v List of Illustrations, Tables and Graphs vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Visions 25 1.1: Background and context 30 1.2 Protagonists of vision 40 1.3 Science and Art, Albertopolis and London 61 1.4 Evolution of vision 75 Chapter 2: Practicalities 84 2.1 The Construction of the Hall 85 2.2 The Governance and Legislation of the Hall 99 2.3 The Uses of the Hall 109 2.4 Finances 137 Chapter 3: Perceptions 151 3.1 1871–1880 153 3.2 1939–1945 172 3.3 2005–2015 187 Conclusion 236 Bibliography 240 Appendices Appendix 1.1 Archive research: List of items explored in the 1851 Commission Archive 286 Appendix 1.2 List of items examined in the Royal Albert Hall archive 292 Appendix 1.3 Table 1: Original Allotment of Seats–1871 from RAH archive 293 Appendix 2.1 Charity Statements 339 Appendix 2.2 Legal Documents 340 Appendix 2.3 Illustration of the Installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master of the Freemasons at the Royal Albert Hall,1875 350 iii Appendix 2.4 Queen’s Hall: Sectional Plan of Ground Floor and photographs 351 Appendix 2.5 Financial Documents 354 Appendix 2.6 Tables of Events 359 Appendix 3.1 Preliminary interview research 367 Appendix 3.2 Venue Comparison Documents 375 Appendix 3.3 Memo of Understanding 407 Appendix 3.4 Questionnaires for RAH patrons and staff 409 Appendix 3.5 In–depth interviews for RAH patrons and staff 413 Appendix 3.6 Other interviews: Ex–BBC Proms Directors 420 Appendix 3.7 Forms for Participants 425 Appendix 3.8 Collection of Lionel Bradley’s Bulletins 429 Appendix 3.9 Participant Observer Journal entries 432 iv Acknowledgements This thesis was made possible by the Royal College of Music’s provision of a scholarship. My sincere thanks go to my supervisory team: Professor Colin Lawson, Professor Paul Banks and Dr. Natasha Loges. I must express my gratitude to Chris Cotton, who was instrumental in negotiating the memorandum so that I could undertake this thesis, James Ainscough and the staff of the Royal Albert Hall. My heartfelt thanks to friends and family who have provided moral support and endless cups of tea! Special thanks go to Mum, Dad (who I know will be proud that I have completed this thesis), my brothers, Mark and Iain, my partner Mark, and Professor Paul Farnsworth. v For my Dad, John Gibbs vi List of Illustrations, Tables and Graphs Figure 1: A photograph of a section of the Royal Albert Hall’s frieze, from the Hall’s website 25 Figure 2: Portrait of Prince Albert, oil on canvas, by Franz Winterhalter, 1842, Royal Collection 41 Figure 3: Portrait photograph of Henry Cole by Melluish c. 1870, Victoria and Albert Museum 50 Figure 4: Portrait of Queen Victoria, oil on canvas, Franz Winterhalter, 1842, Royal Collection 56 Figure 5: Photograph of the Auditorium of the Royal Albert Hall, from the Hall’s website c. 2016 87 Figure 6: Photograph of the Last Night of the Proms, from the Hall’s website c. 2013 126 Figure 7: Photograph of the Hall’s auditorium configured for Cirque du Soleil, from tripadvisor.co.uk 132 Table 1: Southbank Centre Financial History 96 Table 2: Royal Opera House Financial History 98 Table 3: Royal Albert Hall Financial History 98 Table 4: Amount Invested in charitable objects 2010–2015 105 Table 5: Annual International Exhibitions 1871–1874: Receipts and Admissions 113 Table 6: Questions from patron questionnaire 210 Table 7: Questions and responses from patron questionnaire continued 211 Table 8: Questions and responses from patron questionnaire continued 212 Table 9: Questions and responses from staff questionnaire 215 vii Table 10: Questions and responses from staff questionnaire continued 216 Table 11: Questions and responses from staff questionnaire continued 217 Table 12: Responses to staff interviews 223 Graph 1: Number of Scientific Events Held at the Royal Albert Hall: 1871–2015 66 Graph 2: Classical Music at the Royal Albert Hall 115 Graph 3: Classical music at the Royal Albert Hall, including the Proms 116 Graphs 4 and 5: Total Value of Ticket Sales in January and February, 1992–2008 and Total Net Marginal Gain in January and February, 2002–2008 135 Graph 6: Historic Inflation Graph 1860–2015 139 Graph 7: Total Event Count, 1926–2013 139 Graph 8: Event Count History, Ordinaries and Exclusives 1926–2013 139 Graph 9: Total Event Count: 1871–1890; 1930–1955 and 2005–2015 141 Graph 10: Seat Rate History 1980–2012 143 Graph 11: RAH Operating Surplus 1988–2011 144 Graph 12: Inflation–adjusted Operating Surplus/ Deficit 1876–1976 145 Graph 13: Inflation–adjusted Seat Rate Income, 1876–1976 146 Graph 14: Inflation–adjusted Total Salary Expenditure, 1876–1926 146 Graph 15: Real Salary Expenditure, 1963–1991 147 viii List of Abbreviations Royal Albert Hall [RAH] Royal College of Music [RCM] Royal Academy of Music [RAM] Royal Opera House [ROH] Royal Festival Hall [RFH] London Symphony Orchestra [LSO] London Philharmonic [LPO] Abbreviated references for frequently cited sources 1. Thackrah, The Royal Albert Hall J.R. Thackrah, The Royal Albert Hall (Suffolk: Terence Dalton Limited, 1983). 2. Stone, ed., The Royal Albert Hall: A Victorian Masterpiece for the 21st Century Jonathan Stone, ed., The Royal Albert Hall: A Victorian Masterpiece for the 21st Century (London: Fitzhardinge Press, 2003). 3. Hobhouse, The Crystal Palace and The Great Exhibition. Art, Science and Productive Industry Hermione Hobhouse, The Crystal Palace and The Great Exhibition. Art, Science and Productive Industry: A History of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (New York: Continuum, 2002). 4. Bailey, Leisure and Class in Victorian England ix Peter Bailey, Leisure and Class in Victorian England: Rational Recreation and the Contest for Control, 1830 – 1885 (London: Methuen, 1978). 5. Doctor, Wright and Kenyon eds., The Proms Jenny Doctor, David Wright and Nicholas Kenyon, eds., The Proms: A New History (London: Thames & Hudson, 2007). 6. Creswell, Research Design John Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (California: Sage Publications, 2009). 7. Robson, Real World Research Colin Robson, Real World Research Third Edition (Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2011). 8. Notes from the Lionel Bradley Concert Bulletins GB–Lcm MS12345, [S] Lionel Bradley – Notes on Concerts etc. 9. Pitts, ‘On the Edge of their Seats: Comparing First Impressions and Regular Attendance in Arts Audiences’ Stephanie Pitts, ‘On the Edge of their Seats: Comparing First Impressions and Regular Attendance in Arts Audiences’, Psychology of Music 44 (2016). 10. Pitts, Dobson, Gee and Spencer, ‘Views of an Audience: Understanding the Orchestral Concert Experiences from Player and Listener Perspectives’ Stephanie Pitts, Melissa Dobson, Kate Gee and Christopher Spencer, ‘Views of an Audience: Understanding the Orchestral Concert Experiences from Player and x Listener Perspectives’, Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies 10 (2013). 11. Hayes, ‘Festival Fieldwork and the Participant–Observer’ Ian Hayes, 2012, ‘Festival Fieldwork and the Participant Observer: Celtic Colours, Calendar Custom, and the Carnivalesque’, Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, 28 – 33. 12. Geale, First Edition of a History of the Royal Albert Hall, 1944. Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Archive, Box 75 (Royal Albert Hall Correspondence), Folder 22 John Geale, First Edition of a History of the Royal Albert Hall, 1944. Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Archive, Box 75 (Royal Albert Hall Correspondence), Folder 22. xi Introduction This doctoral thesis grew out of an interest in the effects of classical music on society and culture. At an elementary level it addresses the question of whether transient events affect the venues and the audiences who experience them. Subsequently, this question will be examined in terms of how they affect the ‘identity’ of a venue. The Royal Albert Hall provides an exceptional case study and is also referred to as ‘the Hall’ and the ‘RAH’. The thesis addresses five questions: What is the relationship between a public space and the events it hosts? What factors have affected the identity of the RAH as a public venue? How have these changed during the Hall’s existence? How do these factors affect the events which the Hall hosts? And does a space affect what happens inside it? Rationale Through the ‘lens’ of the Royal Albert Hall, this thesis examines the multiple factors that affect a fixed cultural space, including the extent to which they have led to it being repeatedly reshaped and re–inscribed. Monitoring the effects of these factors on the Hall’s identity over the course of its existence, as well as their effects on the events which the Hall hosts, will allow us to gain a greater understanding of whether a space can affect what happens inside it.