12 Apr 2018
It was announced this evening that MCO’s Monteverdi 450 trilogy tour, which celebrated Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary in 2017, has been shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award. This recognition by one of classical music’s leading organisations provides a fitting tribute to all those involved in the year-long project; from the talented onstage musicians led by Sir John Eliot Gardiner who vividly brought Monteverdi’s words and music to life for audiences across Europe and the US to those working tirelessly behind-the-scenes whose industry made the magic possible.
Full details of the RPS Music Award shortlist can be found here
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 9th May at the RPS Awards Ceremony.
Monteverdi 450 trilogy tour
The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists commenced their Monteverdi 450 celebrations in 2016 with workshops at the Accademia Monteverdiana at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice. This was followed in 2017 by performances of Monteverdi’s three surviving operas: L’Orfeo, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea for which the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras assembled an exemplary cast of world-class singers for ‘staged-concert’ performances.
This momentous international tour began at Aix-en-Provence, continuing in Barcelona and Bristol before taking audiences by storm at La Fenice in Venice. Performances of the Trilogy then continued at prestigious European festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Lucerne, Berlin and Wroclaw before finally concluding across the Atlantic in Chicago and at the renowned White Light Festival, New York.
‘This is a living Opera, projecting thrillingly into a large space without ever losing focus or energy. Gardiner conducts all three with absolute authority, and his players and singers, cross-cast, work as a seamless team.’
Sunday Telegraph ★★★★★
