It’s been a delight to present Hôtel Babylon in the context of other repertoire which inhabits similar worlds: Zoë’s music is definitely more heart-on-sleeve and unashamedly performative than Poulenc, Eisler or Adès, but it absolutely stands up in that company.
Following a 150th anniversary album devoted to the songs of Schoenberg and a programme of works inspired by his Pierrot Lunaire, the intrepid British soprano Claire Booth recently commissioned a song-cycle from Zoë Martlew which takes its cue from the Austrian composer’s cabaret songs and from Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins. Premiered at Wigmore Hall in late 2024, Hôtel Babylon is a veritable rogues’ gallery featuring a sinister Yorkshire madame, a psychotic French chef, an amoral cashier, a manipulative beautician and more…
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