Philip Venables is a British composer known for his operatic and theatrical works.
Life and career
Born in Chester, Venables studied at Jesus College, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied under Philip Cashian and was awarded the DipRAM diploma and the Manson Fellowship in Composition.
Venables' orchestral works include Arc, written for the BBC Philharmonic; String Quartet for the Duke Quartet at Wigmore Hall; Hyaline, for the London Symphony Orchestra; and The Revenge of Miguel Cotto for the London Sinfonietta. His operatic and vocal works include In America et ego, performed at the Bregenz Festival; UNLEASHED, for Tête à Tête (opera company): The Opera Festival; va and Thalidomide for the BBC Singers. His artistic collaborations have included Bound to Hurt, with Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon; and Illusions, with avant-garde cabaret artist David Hoyle.
Venables wrote the 2016 operatic adaptation of 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane for the Royal Opera at the Lyric Hammersmith. Authorised by Kane's estate as the first operatic adaptation of her work, the opera was well received by critics and nominated for the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.
Venables is the Doctoral Composer in Residence at the Royal Opera House and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2016, he became an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
Venables received an Ivor Novello Award nomination at The Ivors Classical Awards 2023. Answer Machine Tape, 1987, composed for solo piano with amplification and KeyScanner device, projection and recorded sound, was nominated for Best Small Chamber Composition. In 2024 Venables received a second Ivor Novello Award nomination at The Ivors Classical Awards 2024 for The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions which received its UK premiere at the Manchester International Festival.
Venables is queer and many of his works touch on LGBT culture. He lives in London and Berlin.
Works This is an incomplete list and may not reflect the entirety of the composer's output. Year Title Genre For Reference 2006 String Quartet Ensemble String quartet 2006 K, prelude to Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, K581 Ensemble Clarinet in A and string quartet 2006–2011 Piano Studies (The boy with the moon in his eyes) Solo Piano 2007 Thalidomide Vocal 24 voices 2008 Time Stands Still, after John Dowland Vocal Soprano and guitar 2008 ANIMA Ensemble 14 players 2009 Fight music Ensemble 8 players 2009 Len's music Ensemble Solo cello, viola, clarinet, horn 2010 Metamorphoses after Britten Solo Any solo wind instrument 2010 I ____ the body electric Vocal Male singer and male speaker with piano or another instrument 2011 Flipp Duo Two saxophones of the same type 2011 Klaviertrio im Geiste Ensemble Piano trio 2011 Fuck Forever Vocal Male speaker, piano, cello and woodblock 2011 numbers 76–80 : tristan und isolde Vocal 4 voices (SATB) and string quartet 2011 numbers 91–95 Vocal Speaker and two tape recorders, harp, flute and woodblock 2012 The Revenge of Miguel Cotto Vocal Ensemble, two male vocalists, percussion and tape 2015 Illusions Ensemble Video playback (projection) and 9 players 2016 4.48 Psychosis Opera Orchestra and 6 vocalists 2019Denis & KatyaOpera2 singers and chamber orchestra2023The Faggots and Their Friends Between the RevolutionsOpera15 singers and instrumentalists2025We Are The Lucky Ones (Opera)Opera8 singers and chamber orchestra
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