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Monteverdi in Venice - His finest works, in glorious churches, great halls and palaces
- Monteverdi’s finest works, in all their pioneering, expressive glory, in the most beautiful city on Earth – his home for half his creative life.
- Six performances by some of the leading interpreters in the world: Academy of Ancient Music, I Fagiolini, Concerto Italiano and Odhecaton, with soloists including Anna Dennis, Ed Lyon, Matthew Long and Nicholas Mulroy.
- Three of his most iconic larger works: operas 'L’Orfeo' and 'L’incoronazione di Poppea', and the deeply moving 1610 Vespers.
- Concerts take place in private palaces, glorious churches and lavishly decorated scuole, where Tintoretto and Titian provide sublime backdrops.
- Daily talks by leading early music expert Professor John Bryan.
- Optional art historical and architectural walks and visits to explore the city.
- A choice between seven of the best 4- or 5-star hotels.
Brochure
Musicians
Programme
If you choose one of our flights from Heathrow to Venice (see page 22), you are met at Venice Marco Polo airport by our festival staff, and transfer by motoscafo (water taxi) to your festival hotel; or make your own way there.
A drinks reception and early dinner precede the first concert.
Concert, 8.30pm:
Sacred Monteverdi
Odhecaton
Paolo da Col director
Acclaimed Italian specialists Odhecaton present the Missa In illo tempore, a Renaissance mass for six-part voices. Based on a motet by Gombert, it was published in the same anthology as the famous 1610 Vespers.
A richly woven tapestry of sound, the work is a brilliant display of counterpoint that showcases Monteverdi’s deep command of Renaissance polyphony. It stands as a bridge between the Renaissance and Baroque eras, highlighting Monteverdi’s versatility and deep respect for polyphonic tradition even as he pioneered more modern expressiveness in other works.
Return to your festival hotel for the first of five nights (or six if arriving a day early).
A morning talk on the music is followed by the option of art historical or architectural walks and visits. Full information will be sent to all those booked at a later stage.
La Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista was one of the greatest of the Venetian scuole – charitable, religious and social institutions which provided platforms for much of the city’s cultural life. The Renaissance transformation of their premises which began in the 1480s culminates in a glorious hall, which was further embellished in the 16th and 18th centuries. The building is not generally open to the public.
Concert, 3.30pm:
L’incoronazione di Poppea
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
Academy of Ancient Music
Laurence Cummings director
Anna Dennis Poppea
Ed Lyon Nero
Rest of cast to be confirmed.
Concert performance
Composed in Venice in 1643, the last year
of Monteverdi’s life, L’incoronazione di Poppea takes a bold step toward astonishing modernity – although, of course, the composer created it within the typically Venetian anti-heroic and ironic theatrical conventions of his time.
Exclusively among Monteverdi’s operas, the libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busanello is historical rather than mythological: the Emperor Nero is determined to marry his mistress, Poppea. Action is relatively subdued, for this is an intense drama of emotional and political brutality, presenting realistically self-obsessed people in situations motivated by sexual lust and political avarice.
No characters are discernibly moral or reasonable except the political outcast Seneca, and the drama’s topos as a celebration of amoral libertine triumph set the tone for Venetian opera for decades to come – and seems closer to modern-day attitudes of hedonistic materialism and ruthless ambition than most of the operas that have been written since.
Dinner is included this evening.
There is a morning talk on the music, followed by a concert for half the audience at Ateneo Veneto. As the hall is too small to seat everyone at once, the other half of the audience attends in the afternoon. As on previous and following days, when not attending a concert there is time to explore Venice independently, or the option of various walks and visits.
The Ateneo Veneto was built in the 1590s as the Scuola di San Fantin. Since the confraternity’s dissolution in 1806, the building has become the seat of various cultural societies. The main hall is decorated with elaborate woodwork and paintings (Veronese, Palma Il Giovane).
Concert, 11.30am or 2.30pm:
Songs of Love and War
Ateneo Veneto
Academy of Ancient Music
Laurence Cummings director
Anna Dennis soprano
Ed Lyon tenor
In his Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi of 1638 Monteverdi shows how far he had redefined the madrigal concept, combining instrumental parts with voices and inventing a melodramatic style to represent fierce emotions such as the heroism of battle. In the revolutionary Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda he depicts the fatal duel between a knight and a lady disguised as a warrior. Written in 1624 for an entertainment at the home of the Venetian nobleman Girolamo Mocenigo, its poweful emotions can still overwhelm us. War-like madrigals contrast with the pathos of unrequited love in masterpieces like Lamento della Ninfa, built with effortless skill over a repeated motif in the accompaniment.
The evening concerts take place in the Conservatorio di Benedetto Marcello, which now occupies the Palazzo Pisani a Santo Stefano, adjacent to the Accademia Bridge. One of the largest of patrician palaces in Venice and the property of one of the richest families, its principal building phases were the early 17th and the mid 18th centuries. Our concerts take place in the ballroom – the hall is too small to seat everyone at once, so once again there will be two performances, with half the audience attending each.
Concert, 5.30pm or 9.00pm:
A Spectrum of Madrigals
Palazzo Pisani, Conservatorio di Benedetto Marcello
Concerto Italiano
Rinaldo Alessandrini director
Madrigals run like a thread through Monteverdi’s career, from the pastoral pieces of his student days to the final book, published in Venice eight years after his death. This programme traverses the complete span of Monteverdi’s output, witnessing the changes in his approach. The early books paint vivid musical pictures, such as the gently undulating waters of Ecco mormorar l’onde.
Books 3 to 5, from Monteverdi’s years in Mantua, make such intense explorations of human passions that critics accused him of breaking the rules. In the last three books, from the Venetian period, his operatic experience shines through, in virtuoso pieces such as Vaga su spina ascosa.
Dinner is independent this evening.
The daily talk on the music takes place in the morning.
The most magnificent of all confraternity premises, La Scuola Grande di San Rocco was constructed in the first half of the 16th century. In the 1570s the great hall was adorned with a magnificent cycle of dynamic and highly-charged canvasses by Tintoretto. In combination with the gilded woodwork, this created one of the most lavish interiors in Venice, and one of the most glorious halls in Europe.
Concert, 3.30pm:
L’Orfeo
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
I Fagiolini
Robert Hollingworth director
Matthew Long Orfeo
Ciara Hendrick Messenger
Martha McLorinan La Speranza
Frederick Long Caronte
Amy Wood Proserpina
Concert performance. The part of Euridice is yet to be confirmed.
Monteverdi’s first favola in musica was produced in February 1607 in the ducal palace at Mantua. The libretto by Alessandro Striggio relates the legend of the musician Orpheus losing his bride Eurydice and attempting to rescue her from the underworld. It had also been the subject of the two earliest operas to survive, both created for Florence at the turn of the century by Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini.
Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo adopted similar ingredients of recitative, monody, aria, chorus and instrumental ritornelli, but he produced a work of greater emotional scale, subtler musical flexibility and tauter dramatic organisation. His score is incomparably more compelling, with richer harmony and sweeter melody contributing indispensably to mood and character.
Dinner is independent this evening.
The daily talk on the music takes place in the morning.
The afternoon is largely free, before a gala dinner in the richly decorated Palazzo Zeno, which dates to the 14th century and is located only minutes away from I Frari.
Monteverdi is buried in the Franciscan church of I Frari, one of the largest in Venice and the one best endowed with works of art of the Renaissance and Neo-Classical eras. Titian’s magnificent Assumption forms a sublime backdrop to the performance.
Concert, 8.30pm:
1610 Vespers
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
I Fagiolini
English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble
Robert Hollingworth director
Ft. Matthew Long, Julia Doyle, Nicholas Mulroy
Our closing concert presents what is arguably the finest achievement of Venetian liturgical music in one of the most magnificent churches in Venice: Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine of 1610 in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.
A qualification needs to be entered: ‘Venetian’ here is an elastic term, for it was composed while Monteverdi was still in the service of the Duke of Mantua and he only moved to Venice three years later. But it was printed in Venice in 1610 and may have been composed with La Serenissima in mind, perhaps as a surreptitious job application.
The 1610 Vespers is both a landmark and a fulcrum, embodying the traditional liturgical style, the prima pratica, and the new style which emerged in tandem with opera, the seconda pratica. Emotionally charged, theatrical, yet deeply spiritual, it is the perfect note on which to end.
Depending on your flight option there may be further free time in Venice. See page 'transport' for details.
Practicalities
The price includes:
– All 6 private performances
– Accommodation for five nights – choose between seven hotels. See Accommodation.
– Breakfasts, 3 dinners and interval drinks
– Talks on the music by Professor John Bryan
– Water taxis (motoscafi) between airport and hotels, and unlimited free use of the vaporetti (water buses)
– Tips, taxes and obligatory charges
– The assistance of Italian-speaking festival staff and a detailed programme booklet
– A donation to the Venice in Peril Fund
Venice in Peril Fund is the leading British charity dedicated to safeguarding the rich cultural heritage of Venice, now and for future generations. Through collaborative conservation projects, research, educational training and our events programme, we support conservation efforts across Venice, its lagoon and historical territories. Your donation (included in the price of the tour) will go directly to supporting the restoration of Carlo Scarpa’s watergate at the Querini Stampalia Foundation.
Palazzo Barocci (4*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Superior • $5,440
Single occupancy:
Superior • $6,320
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Superior • $5,120
Single occupancy:
Superior • $5,850
Splendid Venice (4*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Superior • $6,060
Single occupancy:
Superior • $6,770
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Superior • $5,700
Single occupancy:
Superior • $6,290
Palazzo Sant’Angelo (4*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Junior Suite: internal view • $6,940
Junior Suite: canal view • $7,820
Grand Canal Suite • $8,320
Single occupancy:
Classic • $7,310
Deluxe • $7,870
Junior Suite: internal view • $8,450
Junior Suite: canal view • $10,050
Grand Canal Suite • $10,870
Arriving 12 November
Junior Suite: internal view • $6,440
Junior Suite: canal view • $7,110
Grand Canal Suite • $7,510
Single occupancy:
Classic • $6,770
Deluxe • $7,220
Junior Suite: internal view • $7,700
Junior Suite: canal view • $8,960
Grand Canal Suite • $9,630
Hotel H10 Palazzo Canova (4*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Superior Venezia • $6,680
Superior Partial Grand Canal View • $7,010
Junior Suite Canal View • $8,000
Single occupancy:
Superior Venezia • $7,790
Superior Partial Grand Canal View • $8,370
Junior Suite Canal View • $10,170
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Superior Venezia • $6,300
Superior Partial Grand Canal View • $6,570
Junior Suite Canal View • $7,310
Single occupancy:
Superior Venezia • $7,230
Superior Partial Grand Canal View • $7,700
Junior Suite Canal View • $9,120
Hotel Luna Baglioni (5*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $7,630
Single occupancy:
Superior • $9,220
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $7,040
Single occupancy:
Superior • $8,360
Hotel Nolinski (5*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $8,570
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $11,050
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $7,780
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $9,840
Hotel Gritti Palace (5*), price per person:
Arriving 11 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $9,040
Landmark Grand Canal • $11,200
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $11,660
Landmark Grand Canal • $15,610
Arriving 12 November
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $8,180
Landmark Grand Canal • $9,800
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $10,360
Landmark Grand Canal • $13,470
We offer several flight options for joining/leaving the festival.
There is also the option to fly out on Wednesday 11th November, the day before the festival begins.
Or you can choose to make your own arrangements for travel to and from the festival.
Arriving on 11th November (a day early):
Option 1
11th November: depart London Heathrow 13.40, arrive Venice at 16.55 (BA 596).
17th November: depart Venice 11.25, arrive London Heathrow at 13.00 (BA 593).
Option 2
11th November: depart London Heathrow 16.20, arrive Venice at 19.30 (BA 598).
17th November: depart Venice 14.25, arrive London Heathrow at 15.55 (BA 595).
Arriving on 12th November (the first day of the festival):
Option 3
12th November: depart London Heathrow 08.20, arrive Venice at 11.35 (BA 592).
17th November: depart Venice 11.25, arrive London Heathrow at 13.00 (BA 593).
Option 4
12th November: depart London Heathrow 10.05, arrive Venice at 13.20 (BA 594).
17th November: depart Venice 14.25, arrive London Heathrow at 15.55 (BA 595).
Connecting flights:
It may be possible to arrange connecting flights with British Airways from Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Belfast.
The no-flights option:
You can choose not to take any of our flight options and to make your own arrangements for joining and leaving the festival. You are welcome to join our airport motoscafo (water-taxi) transfers if your flights coincide with any of the options on this page.
Pre- & Post-festival tours:
The prices for pre- and post-festival tours include the option of a return flight.
All pre-festival tour participants return to the UK on festival flight option 1.
All post-festival tour participants depart from the UK on festival flight option 4.
We charge for flights, if you are taking them, as part of your pre- or post-festival tour booking. You therefore pay the ‘no flights’ price for the festival.
We have selected seven hotels for this festival. All are 4- or 5-star. The hotel is the sole determinant of the different prices for the festival package. They are listed here in price order, with the most expensive appearing last. There is also the option of arriving at your festival hotel a day early (11th November).
Palazzo Barocci (4*)
An elegant and comfortable 4-star hotel built on the site of the Teatro Sant’Angelo, set directly on the Grand Canal and next door to the Palazzo Sant’Angelo hotel which we also offer on this festival. The decor marries classic Venetian luxury and modern comfort, and is well maintained throughout.
Bedrooms are bright, with high ceilings which provide a spacious feel. Rooms overlook the internal courtyard or have views over Venice. Several rooms are equipped with walk-in showers, though some rooms have a bath with shower above. There is a limited number of twin rooms available.
Public areas of the hotel include a bar serving a limited snack menu and a leafy courtyard area with outside seating. There is a breakfast room, but no restaurant.
Splendid Venice (4*)
A delightful hotel situated between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge. Despite the central location the hotel is quiet, with rooms overlooking side canals or an internal courtyard.
Bedrooms are light, well-appointed and decorated in a contemporary style. The majority have a bath with shower fitment, though a small number have a stand-alone shower.
There is a good restaurant, bar and lounge, library and roof terrace.
Although the hotel has its own mooring point, water taxis are not always able to arrive at the door during severe acqua alta (high tide) as they cannot pass under the nearby bridges. Staff are present to assist if we encounter difficulties.
starhotelscollezione.com
Palazzo Sant’Angelo (4*)
The smallest hotel on the festival with just 26 rooms, the Palazzo Sant’Angelo has a warm and personal atmosphere and exclusively accommodates our group (if all rooms fill). It is beautifully located on the Grand Canal near the Campo Sant’Angelo, less than one minute from the Sant’Angelo vaporetto stop, and next door to the Palazzo Barocci hotel.
Rooms are richly decorated in a classic Venetian style, and have views of the canal or hotel courtyard and garden. Bathrooms have sizeable jacuzzi-style bathtubs with an overhead shower fitment.
Public areas include a small bar and lounge but no restaurant.
Hotel H10 Palazzo Canova (4*)
A superb hotel situated in an excellent location, mere steps from the Rialto bridge. It is the closest to three of our main concert venues (in the San Polo district), but the furthest from where the daily talks are held (although this venue is easily reachable by vaporetto).
Decorated with calming jewel tones, the hotel demonstrates a thoughtfully-designed balance between contemporary and traditional style throughout. Bedrooms are bright and cosy. Bathrooms have showers over baths, or separate showers upon request. There is a very limited number of twin rooms.
The hotel does not have a restaurant, although a bar is located on the top floor of the hotel offering breathtaking views of iconic Venetian landmarks.
h10hotels.com/en/venice-hotels/h10-palazzo-canova
Hotel Luna Baglioni (5*)
A luxurious hotel that combines Venetian splendour with warm and friendly service. The location is very central, minutes away from Piazza San Marco and the Royal Gardens but removed from the main thoroughfare.
Rooms are spacious and richly furnished in a classic Venetian style; the marble bathrooms are equipped with a bathtub with shower fitment.
Public areas are again opulent and attractive, and the restaurant is excellent. Rooms with lagoon or side canal views, or suites, are available on request.
Hotel Nolinksi (5*)
A tastefully contemporary hotel set in two beautifully restored palazzi. It is discretely located on one of the most elegant boutique thoroughfares in Venice, just moments from Piazza San Marco, and offers the epitome of quiet luxury.
Interiors contrast stucco marbre and mango wood joinery and paneling, with accents of classic and contemporary art throughout. Rooms offer plenty of natural light with high ceilings and, although differing slightly in layout, the style remains consistent throughout the hotel. Most bathrooms have a bath, though there are some with only a shower.
Public areas include a spacious lounge area, a welcoming library bar, two restaurants, one of which is Michelin-starred, and a spa.
Hotel Gritti Palace (5*)
The most venerable hotel in Venice situated at the mouth of the Grand Canal just opposite the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute. Occupying the elegant Gothic palace of a 15th-century doge, the style is one of restrained luxury, and with excellent, discreet service.
Sensitive restoration has retained its Venetian character; rooms and public areas are sumptuously decorated with Rubelli fabrics, Murano chandeliers and antique furniture.
There is a bar, lounge and two restaurants with a terrace area.
Notes on hotels:
WiFi. Complimentary at all hotels.
Quiet? Though blessedly free of the sound of vehicular traffic, motor boats and street life mean that few hotels can be guaranteed to be absolutely quiet.
Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, rooms vary in size and outlook.
Suites and rooms with views. Some hotels have suites and rooms with views of the Grand Canal.
All are subject to availability at the time of booking.
A choice of pre- and post-festival tours:
Venetian Palaces, 6–10 November 2026
Venice Revisited, 6–11 November 2026
Titian, Tintoretto & Veronese, 18–24 November 2026
Early Music in Northern Italy, 19–23 November 2026
Arriving a day early in your festival hotel.
Extra Dinners:
Choose to join optional dinners on the two independent evenings. This ensures that you eat in the company of other festival participants on all evenings. Full details and prices are available nearer the time.
Optional walks and visits with:
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott is an art historian specialising in the Italian Renaissance. He studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art and Birkbeck College, both University of London, taught at Birkbeck and for American universities and has been published in learned journals.
Dr Susan Steer is an art historian specialising in Venice – she has lived in the city and nearby for 25 years. She has extensive experience of teaching the History of Art in the UK and Italy, and is also qualified as a local guide.
Full information about walks and visits, with prices, will be sent to all those booked at a later stage.
This is a physically demanding festival and fitness is essential.
All participants must be able to cope with the walking and stair-climbing required to get to the concerts and other events. The hotels we have chosen are mostly situated in the San Marco district, whereas many of the concert venues are on the other side of the Grand Canal in the San Polo district (where there are very few hotels).
Venice covers a large area. There are the steps of numerous bridges to negotiate. Water taxis are not always an option.
You should be able to walk unaided for at least 30 minutes and to be able to get on and off (sometimes pitching) water buses and taxis.
We are very happy to talk you through each day’s manoeuvres, as these differ festival to festival, to identify if it may be necessary to opt out at any point.
We ask that you take the simple fitness tests before booking.
If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.
– Private. All the performances are planned and administered by us, and the audience consists exclusively of those who have taken the festival package.
– Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.
– Audience size. There will be up to around 200 participants on the festival. Two of our venues cannot hold this number, so at these, the performance will be repeated.
– Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with locale and authenticity than with acoustic perfection. The venues may have idiosyncrasies or reverberations of the sort not found in modern concert halls.
– Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues may close for repairs, airlines alter schedules: there are many circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.
Dates & prices
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2026
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
12th - 17th November 2026
Speaker:
Prof John Bryan
Price:
from US$6,510
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“On the truly splendid Monteverdi in Venice festival the music, the company and the buildings all combined to make it an outstanding event.
”
“The Monteverdi week provided us with a richness for our minds and musical hearts that we will never forget. I really think that this week will influence our musical and spiritual lives for many years.
”
“The music was phenomenal. First class. What a privilege to be able to hear such singing and playing in those beautiful rooms. It would be almost impossible to find anywhere else such a comprehensive presentation of Monteverdi’s music in such a short period of time, and certainly not in such glorious Renaissance rooms and buildings.
”
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