Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras (MCO) is the registered charity of three leading international music ensembles: the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, and Orchestra Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
Each ensemble shares in the distinctive vision of founder John Eliot Gardiner to bring fresh perspectives, immediacy, and drama to performances around the world. The ensembles’ world-class musicians specialize in historically inspired projects across a variety of repertoire, ranging from sacred music to semi-staged operas, as well as intimate chamber works.
In 2022, MCO performed a number of successful tours, including partnerships with the Berlin Philharmonic and Concertgebouw and Orchestra Philharmonique Luxembourg; symphonies by Mozart and Haydn at venues in Europe and the United States; a program of Bach, Schütz, and Schein at prestigious festivals across Europe; and Beethoven’s late masterpiece Missa solemnis at the BBC Proms, Berliner Festspiele, and Wratisavia Cantans. The year culminated with a tour of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Teatro all Scala in Milan, the Chapelle Royale at the Château de Versailles in Versailles, and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. This performance was livestreamed on Deutsche Grammophon’s new digital platform Stage+.
MCO records on its own label, Soli Deo Gloria, and collaborates with prestigious labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, with over 150 recordings, films, and livestreams, many of which have received critical acclaim. Notable recordings include Bach’s complete set of cantatas as part of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage project in 2000 and film recordings of Monteverdi’s three surviving operas as part of the Royal Philharmonic Society award-winning Monteverdi 450 project in 2017.
Alongside performances and recordings, MCO is committed to nurturing future generations of classical musicians. The Monteverdi Apprentice Program enables outstanding young musicians to train and perform alongside MCO’s three world-class ensembles under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner.