11 May 2026
Peter Whelan conducts the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 2026 Ⓒ Paul Marc Mitchell
The Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras’ ambition continues to grow as it expands its artistic programme and international touring. A renewed focus on excellence and innovation in historically-informed performance brings music lovers an autumn and winter of performances across Europe, North and South America, shaped by repertoire-led collaborations with distinguished conductors.
Following last year’s triumphant concert of Rossini at Cadogan Hall, the MCO’s groundbreaking exploration of Rossini on period instruments continues with the Petite Messe Solennelle, in the rarely performed orchestral version by the composer himself, prepared shortly before his death. Conducted by rising star and Rossini historical performance specialist Jakob Lehmann, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR) return to the Alexandra Palace Theatre for the first time since 2019. The venue is an apt choice for a performance of this work: the orchestral version was first performed at the Salle Ventadour in Paris – a grand 19th-century theatre not unlike Alexandra Palace Theatre – in 1869, making the work almost contemporary with the building.
Jakob Lehmann conducts the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 2026 Ⓒ Paul Marc Mitchell
Continuing MCO’s exploration of Handel oratorio in ‘staged’ concert performances, Christophe Rousset makes a welcome return with Handel’s Theodora. He conducts the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists with a star cast that includes Alice Coote and Iestyn Davies. Bringing his trademark operatic panache to Handel’s transcendental work, Tom Guthrie directs a staging that travels to Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Sao Paulo, Paris, Rome, Oxford and London between 2 and 19 November. The Oxford performance takes place at the newly opened Sohmen Concert Hall at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, marking the first step in a new relationship with this acclaimed new cultural space.
Christophe Rousset conducts the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 2025 Ⓒ Paul Marc Mitchell
A Venetian Christmas is a programme based on the historic Christmas Eve celebrations at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice, bringing together three composers who represent the Venetian school and its far-reaching influence: Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz. The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists are led by the esteemed harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti, making his MCO debut, in what promises to be a magical festive evening at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 17 December.
Masaaki Suzuki conducts the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 2025 Ⓒ Paul Marc Mitchell
In February 2027, Masaaki Suzuki returns to the MCO following his sensational debut with them in 2025 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Suzuki conducts the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and soloists including Nick Pritchard, Florian Störtz and Carolyn Sampson in performances at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London (9 February) and in major a tour of the United States that finishes at Carnegie Hall on 23 February.
These performances follow an already phenomenal 2026 for the MCO, which has seen Bach’s St John Passion conducted by Peter Whelan in Barcelona, Budapest and London, and a collaborative tour of Bach's Mass in B minor with Laurence Equilbey and Accentus/Insula Orchestra. This May, Jonathan Sells returns to conduct an immersive production of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, directed by Andrew Staples, in the dry dock of Cutty Sark in Greenwich, and on tour at the Bergen International Festival in Norway, and in June, a programme exploring Haydn's time in London will be conducted by Peter Whelan, joined by cello soloist Christophe Coin. The Monteverdi Choir and ORR return to the BBC Proms on 6 August for a concert staging of Weber’s Oberon, conducted by Sir Mark Elder, making his MCO debut, and featuring a newly commissioned narration, the cast includes Charles Castronovo, Jennifer Davis and Nicky Spence.
