Monteverdi's Flying Circus

Armonico Consort
Monteverdi’s Flying Circus

Four hundred years ago revolutionary composer Claudio Monteverdi led the way from the Renaissance into the Baroque period, composing some of the first operas. Breaking the rules of harmony with courage, wit and a wispy beard, he wrote some of the greatest music the world has ever heard.

With little known about the final years of his life, Monteverdi’s Flying Circus delves into the world and psyche of this extraordinary man, exploring his battles with the authorities, his son’s arrest by the Spanish Inquisition and the untimely death of his wife Claudia.

Alongside a new script by Kit Hesketh Harvey, by turn profoundly moving and hilarious, the production draws some of the most beautiful music from all three of Monteverdi’s operas (L’Orfeo, Ulysses and Poppea) and delightfully entwines world class singers, actors and aerial displays with the UK’s finest period instrumentalists to retell the story of the composer’s turbulent last years. This is a highly entertaining evening, equally well suited to those passionate about Baroque opera, or those who may merely be curious.