I’ve just made the acquaintance of St. David’s Hall and BBC Hoddinott Hall for the first time (as performer, not audience).
Hoddinott Hall seems to be a Cardiff equivalent of LSO St. Luke’s, only purpose-built. It is still very new, and has an attractive wood-panelled interior. Acoustically, it has an interesting quirk. Usually when I am rehearsing or performing with a large choir in a concert hall, I can’t really hear myself, and the other singers all blend into one another. But in Hoddinott Hall you can hear the row behind you very distinctly. This has a knock-on effect, an awareness that the singers in the row in front of you will be able to hear you individually in the same way – certainly an incentive to pull your socks up.
St. David’s Hall seats about the same number as Bristol’s Colston Hall, but is laid out very differently. The seating is largely divided into smallish blocks set at various angles, which surround the stage. Being a large choir, we used one of these blocks on each side as well as the choir seating behind the stage. The hall is tucked in next to a shopping centre, which partly dictated its layout.