Monteverdi’s Legacy

Folger Consort opens its 50th anniversary season with Monteverdi’s Legacy, a program that evokes a gondola tour through 17th-century Venice. The concert explores the birthplace of early Baroque innovation, where Claudio Monteverdi served as music director at San Marco from 1613 until his death in 1643, and where Venice became a thriving center for early opera and chamber music. The performance features madrigals, motets, sonatas, and operatic excerpts by Monteverdi alongside works by his students and admirers, including Rovetta, Cavalli, and Marini.

When: September 11–13, 2026. Friday, September 11; Saturday, September 12; Sunday, September 13.

Showtimes: Friday evening at 8:00 PM; Saturday matinee at 2:00 PM and Saturday evening at 8:00 PM; Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM. (These times are based on the standard subscription performance schedule for the season.)

Tickets: Individual ticket prices are not yet available. Full-season subscription packages for Folger Consort’s four concerts start at $162 (including a $6 handling fee), with a $126 discount option for patrons under 35. Subscribers receive best seats at best price, free ticket exchanges, and access to the Early Music Seminar series.

Lineup: Folger Consort, under the artistic leadership of Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall, performing madrigals, motets, sonatas, and operatic excerpts by Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Rovetta, Francesco Cavalli, and Biagio Marini.

Run time: Not specified.

Ages: Not specified; contact the box office for age recommendations.

Venue: Folger Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC.

Note: This concert launches Folger Consort's 50th season, celebrating the ensemble's legacy since its founding in 1977. For accessibility inquiries, contact the Folger box office at (202) 544-7077 or folgerboxoffice@folger.edu.