In 2017, to mark the 450th anniversary of the birth of Monteverdi, the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and an exemplary cast of world-class singers performed the composer’s 3 surviving operas: L’Orfeo, L’incoronazione di Poppea & Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. The tour of this Monteverdian trilogy reached audiences at La Fenice Venice, the Salzburg, Lucerne and Edinburgh Festivals, as well Aix en Provence, Barcelona, Chicago and New York. The Monteverdi 450 Project was awarded the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera.

Accademia Monteverdiana
In 2016, to prepare for our ambitious international tour for Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary, we conducted a series of workshops under the auspices of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. During the week, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the soloists selected for the Monteverdi 450 project explored Monteverdi’s aesthetic and compositional practice through the study of his Madrigals, alongside key scenes from the surviving operas. They were joined by a group of distinguished musicologists, with the workshops providing a platform for scholarly discussion on historically informed performance practice and its relevance for today’s audiences. The week of study and exploration culminated in a final showcase concert held in the beautiful Sala degli Arazzi (Hall of Tapestries) of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini on 30 April 2016.

MONTEVERDI 450 TOUR DATES - 2017

APRIL
Mon 10 at 8.30pm | Festival de Paques | Aix-en-Provence | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Wed 12 at 7.30pm | Colston Hall | Bristol | UK | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

MAY
Wed 3 at 8.30pm | Palau de la Musica | Barcelona | Spain | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Mon 8 at 7.30pm | Colston Hall | Bristol | UK | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Sun 28 at 7.30pm | Colston Hall | Bristol | UK | L’Orfeo

JUNE
Fri 16 at 7pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | L’Orfeo
Sat 17 at 3.30pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sun 18 at 3.30pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Mon 19 at 7pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | L’Orfeo
Tue 20 at 7pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Wed 21 at 7pm | Teatro La Fenice | Venice | Italy | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Sat 24 at 9pm | Duomo di Cremona | Cremona | Italy | Vespers
Tue 27 at 8.30pm | Basilique St Denis | St Denis | France | Vespers

JULY
Wed 26 at 7.30pm | Felsenreitschule | Salzburg Festival | Austria | L’Orfeo
Fri 28 at 7pm | Felsenreitschule | Salzburg Festival | Austria | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sat 29 at 7pm | Felsenreitschule | Salzburg Festival | Austria | L’incoronazione di Poppea

AUGUST
Mon 14 at 7pm | Usher Hall | Edinburgh Festival | UK | L’Orfeo
Tue 15 at 7pm | Usher Hall | Edinburgh Festival | UK | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Thu 17 at 7pm | Usher Hall | Edinburgh Festival | UK | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Tue 22 at 7.30pm | KKL Lucerne | Lucerne Festival | Switzerland | L’Orfeo
Fri 25 at 6.30pm | KKL Lucerne | Lucerne Festival | Switzerland | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sat 26 at 6.30pm | KKL Lucerne | Lucerne Festival | Switzerland | L’incoronazione di Poppea

SEPTEMBER
Sat 2 at 7pm | Philharmonie | Musikfest Berlin | Germany | L’Orfeo
Sun 3 at 7pm | Philharmonie | Musikfest Berlin | Germany | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Tue 5 at 7pm | Philharmonie | Musikfest Berlin | Germany | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Thu 7 at 7pm | NFM | Wratlislavia Cantans | Poland | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Fri 8 at 7pm | NFM | Wratlislavia Cantans | Poland | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sat 16 at 7.30pm | Philharmonie | Paris | France | L’Orfeo
Sun 17 at 7.30pm | Philharmonie | Paris | France | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Mon 18 at 7.30pm | Philharmonie | Paris | France | L’incoronazione di Poppea

OCTOBER
Fri 6 at 8.30pm | Duomo di Pisa | Pisa | Italy | Vespers
Sun 8 at 6pm | Chapelle Royale | Versailles | France | Vespers
Thu 12 at 7.30pm | Harris Theater | Chicago | USA | L’Orfeo
Fri 13 at 7.30pm | Harris Theater | Chicago | USA | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sun 15 at 1pm | Harris Theater | Chicago | USA | L’incoronazione di Poppea
Wed 18 at 7pm | Alice Tully Hall | New York | USA | L’Orfeo
Thu 19 at 7pm | Alice Tully Hall | New York | USA | Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Sat 21 at 7pm | Alice Tully Hall | New York | USA | L’incoronazione di Poppea

The Monteverdi 450 project concluded with a concert at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London in December 2017 to coincide with the V&A’s Opera: Passion, Power and Politics.