Name: Handel's Serse
Start: 2026-06-19T19:00:00
Location: Barbican Centre

Dive into a rich tapestry of orchestral and operatic performances with the Academy of Ancient Music's captivating series at Milton Court Concert Hall. From Monteverdi's Madrigals to Handel's opera of love and power, and the exploration of Georgian London's lost musical world, this season's events celebrate artistic innovation across centuries. Join renowned performers and conductors as they bring to life the works of Monteverdi, Handel, and Bach, offering audiences an unforgettable glimpse into the evolution of music and artistry.

A Musical Journey Through Time: Celebrating Love, War, and Artistic Innovation

Join the Academy of Ancient Music on a captivating journey through the rich tapestry of classical music. From Bach's timeless concertos to Beethoven's thundering symphonies, each performance promises an unforgettable exploration of musical genius. With performances spread across iconic venues in the United Kingdom, the Academy showcases a series of concerts featuring esteemed artists and compositions that have shaped the world of music. Dive into the world of historical and vibrant sounds, where each event brings its own unique flavor and emotional depth.

A Journey Through Time with Academy of Ancient Music

Join the Academy of Ancient Music on a captivating journey as they bring to life the remarkable works of classical geniuses across eight distinct events. From Bach's extraordinary Violin Concertos to Handel's power-packed operas and Monteverdi’s passionate madrigals, each event promises a rich tapestry of sound that echoes through time. With an ensemble of adept artists such as Laurence Cummings, Bojan Čičić, and Christoph Sietzen, these performances are set to illuminate the grandeur of classical music and its enduring legacy.

Embark on a Timeless Musical Journey with the Academy of Ancient Music

Step into a world where music transcends time, with the Academy of Ancient Music's captivating 2026 season. From the vibrant streets of Georgian London with Gambarini's legacy to the competitive musical scene faced by Bach, these events promise to offer an insight into history through the language of music. With 'Rhythm Across Time,' audiences will witness a daring blend of centuries-old compositions and contemporary artistry, while Handel's 'Serse' will enthrall with its tales of love and power. Join us for an unforgettable journey across time and sound.

A Time-Traveling Symphony: The Academy of Ancient Music's 2026 Season

Paula Murrihy

Rachel Redmond

Louise Alder

Rebecca Leggett

Laurence Cummings

Claudia Huckle

Luca Tittoto

Thomas Chenhall

Academy of Ancient Music

Join Academy of Ancient Music in Venice at Martin Randall's festival of Monteverdi’s finest works – in all their pioneering, expressive glory, in the most beautiful city on Earth.
Martin Randall Travel presents a sumptuous festival celebrating the music of Monteverdi in the city which was his creative home for half his life. Between 12-17 November 2026, experience six performances by some of the world's leading interpreters: Academy of Ancient Music, I Fagiolini, Concerto Italiano and Odhecaton, with soloists including Anna Dennis, Ed Lyon, Matthew Long and Nicholas Mulroy.

Performances take place in private palaces, glorious churches and lavishly decorated scuole where Tintoretto and Titian provide sublime backdrops. The festival also includes daily talks by leading early music expert Professor John Bryan plus optional art historical and architectural walks and visits to explore the city.

Monteverdi in Venice

Ateneo Veneto Venice

Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista Venice

Monteverdi’s most sensuous – and scandalous – opera, performed in concert by Laurence Cummings, Academy of Ancient Music and a stellar cast.
Sex, death, and the most dangerous appetite of all – power. The misdeeds of the Emperor Nero and the rise of his mistress Poppea are supposed to be a cautionary tale. But Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea tells the story in music of such drama, such style and such pure, sensuous beauty that it’s hard not to be seduced.

L'incoronazione di Poppea

Barbican Centre

Harpsichordist Alastair Ross plays Bach, Handel, Laschanzky and their contemporaries – celebrating an instrument that liberated the baroque imagination.
In the baroque era, the harpsichord was the bleeding edge of music technology. It was an instrument of infinite possibilities, opening new vistas to professional composers and bringing music into the home - where previously unheard voices were emboldened to create and inspire.

For decades, Academy of Ancient Music’s harpsichordist Alastair Ross has lived and breathed this music and this world. Now he joins forces with Laurence Cummings to recreate a musical revolution. Bach weaves sublime visions, keyboard masters capture the sunlight, and brilliant noblewomen make themselves heard at last, writing music that sparkles with invention, fantasy and emotion. A celebration of an age, an instrument, and the alchemy that happens when keys and quills encounter imaginations without limits.

The Art of the Harpsichord

University of Cambridge

Milton Court Concert Hall

Academy of Ancient Music plays Septets by Beethoven and Hummel – giants of the Romantic revolution, relaxing among friends.
You could tell when Ludwig van Beethoven liked you, because the insults were off the scale. “You’re an insolent, faithless dog and the devil can take you!” was a typical exchange between Beethoven and his friend (and superfan) Johann Hummel – and the same irreverence, playfulness and outsize wit crackles through every note of this concert.

Make no mistake: this slimmed-down showcase might only feature a handful of players, but the musical personalities are enormous. Hummel’s music glitters with all the energy and elegance of a new Romantic era. And we simply love playing Beethoven’s Septet: a pocket symphony with a delicious twist, brimming with melody and fun. It was one of Beethoven’s greatest hits – let us show you why.

Septet: Beethoven & Hummel

On Good Friday, Academy of Ancient Music rediscovers Handel’s Brockes-Passion – the story of the Crucifixion, retold in music that blazes with emotion.
“My father, see how I suffer! My heart is breaking…” A time of turmoil; a man of peace betrayed; a very human drama of profound suffering and still more powerful hope. For centuries, composers have been setting the story of Christ’s trial and crucifixion to choral music, and performing it on Good Friday.

But it was Academy of Ancient Music, in 2019, that brought Handel’s neglected Brockes-Passion back into the spotlight – revealing it as one of the most dramatic and intensely human of Passion settings. This Easter, it rises again: as bold and as visceral as it sounded when it was first heard in Hamburg, on Good Friday 1719. This is music that speaks directly to heart and soul, performed by artists who love it. Join us, and become part of the tradition.

Handel: Brockes-Passion

The Royall Consort of King Charles I was at the cutting edge of 17th century music, and today it lives again with Academy of Ancient Music.
King Charles I was a connoisseur of the visual arts, but he had exquisite taste in music, too, and the brilliant young composer and courtier William Lawes flooded the Stuart court with some of Britain’s – and Europe’s – most innovative (and ravishing) sounds.

The Royall Consort

Mystery, wonder and sounds to refresh the spirit, as Academy of Ancient Music and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir perform timeless testaments to faith.
Arvo Pärt and Johann Sebastian Bach: two passionate believers united by a stream of music as beautiful, as enduring and as profound as the faith they share.  In a long-awaited collaboration, Academy of Ancient Music joins the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and its chief conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. It’s a revelatory pairing.

Bach’s determination and his singular creative vision finds a parallel in the music of Pärt, which sings of eternal beauty from a time and place – Soviet-occupied Estonia – where freedom of conscience was brutally repressed. And both AAM and the EPCC share a quest for authenticity in every note they perform, creating sounds that transcend their centuries.

Bach/Pärt: Eternal Beauty

Trinity College

Academy of Ancient Music joins the phenomenal Circa in a thrillingly physical reimagining of Beethoven’s only ballet.
Prometheus, they say, brought the fire of the gods to humanity, paying a terrible price for his daring. Beethoven also faced misunderstanding and personal tragedy – but he too unleashed a power that could transform lives. “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom!” he declared, and in his only ballet he retold the myth of Prometheus for an age of Revolution.

The Creatures of Prometheus

Laurence Cummings directs Academy of Ancient Music and a world-class cast in a concert performance of Serse – Handel’s sensational opera of love and power in ancient Persia.

Handel's Serse

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