A wonderful world: Deloitte Ignite 2010 @ Royal Opera House (5th September)

‘Faded Forest’ at the Crush bar

The third annual Deloitte Ignite at the Royal Opera House was curated by Joanna MacGregor, an internationally renowned pianist, composer and auteur. I didn't manage to wander into every room but from what I saw, I think this year's forest-inspired theme and installations were more appealing and successful than last year's, the overall tone was grander, more theatrical but also organic at the same time.

Richard Williams and David Collis' ‘Faded Forest’ at the Crush Room was mesmerising. Using discarded opera costumes, they created a fairytale like ambience and together with the opera performance, I felt like I was in a time warp! Amazing!

In the Paul Hamlyn Hall, 'Floating Forest', an installation made of organic materials and projections was created and built by artists Dan Fern, Sophie Clements, Johannes Braun and Toby Cornish (together with students and graduates of The Royal College of Art). In evening performance, different coloured lights were projected onto the installation creating quite an enchanting effect.

'Monastery of sound' performance by Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet
The closing performance by the remarkable Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet was the highlight of the event. The monks, dressed in traditional costumes performed sacred dances, chanted, prayed and debated (in their rather unusual style). Their music created by instruments like Dungchen (long horns), Gyangling (oboes), the Dhamaru (a small hand-held drum) and the Drilbu (bell) was unique and meditative. I thought the 'Floating Forest' and ambience of the Royal Opera House merged very well with the sound of the monks. Again, the music and sounds made me feel like I was in Tibet (or India where the monks are based since the Chinese government took over Tibet) rather than Central London!

The only down point was the seating arrangements... since the stage was low and all the seats were the same height, audiences at the back just couldn't see properly, so most ended up either standing or moving towards the back. A bit of a shame but hopefully they will improve on these details next year.