Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras has announced its 2026-27 season.

“Our 26-27 season reflects the strength and international standing of the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, built on our uncompromising commitment to excellence, our deep partnerships with the leading artists of today, and our ever-present spirit of innovation, curiosity and discovery,” said MCO Chairman Christian Rochat in the official announcement.

The season’s summer highlights begin with Jonathan Sells conducting an immersive concert staging of Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas,” directed by Andrew Staples, at Cutty Sark in Greenwich and the Bergen International Festival. The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists are joined by Karima El Demerdasch, Hubert Zapiór, and Johanna Wallroth.

Performance Dates: May 21 & June 4, 2026

The Monteverdi Apprentices Programme culminates in a showcase concert featuring the latest cohort of nine singers in a program spanning madrigals, part-songs, lieder, and arias. The program is led by Ambassadors Dame Sarah Connolly and Mark Padmore alongside Choir Director Jonathan Sells.

Performance Date: July 9, 2026, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Mark Elder makes his MCO debut conducting the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in a concert staging of Weber’s “Oberon” at the BBC Proms, marking 200 years since the work’s London premiere and the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death. The cast features Charles Castronovo, Jennifer Davis, and Nicky Spence.

Performance Date: August 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Jakob Lehmann conducts the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle” in the rarely performed orchestral version prepared by the composer before his death, returning to the Alexandra Palace Theatre for the first time since 2019.

Performance Date: Sept. 17, 2026, Alexandra Palace, London

Christophe Rousset returns to conduct the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in a staged concert of Handel’s “Theodora,” directed by Tom Guthrie, with a cast featuring Alice Coote and Iestyn Davies. The production tours to Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, São Paulo, Paris, Rome, Oxford, and London. 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 the venue.

Performance Dates: Nov. 2–19, 2026

Venetian Christmas brings together works by Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi, and Heinrich Schütz in a program evoking the historic Christmas Eve celebrations at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists are led by harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti, making his MCO debut.

Performance Date: Dec. 17, 2026, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Masaaki Suzuki returns to the MCO to conduct the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, and soloists Nick Pritchard, Florian Störtz, and Carolyn Sampson in Bach’s “St Matthew Passion,” celebrating the work’s 300th anniversary. The program opens in London before embarking on a major United States tour concluding at Carnegie Hall.

Performance Dates: Feb. 9, 2026, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London; Feb. 12–23, 2027, USA Tour