Portsmouth Festivities: Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 – CANCELLED

Join the Consorte della Beata Vergine in this exploration of Monteverdi’s towering masterpiece from the early Baroque period. The rarely performed Vespro della Beata Vergine landed Monteverdi the job of choirmaster at the revered St. Mark’s Cathedral, Venice during the 17th century, where he became a pioneer in the development of opera as an art form. At once prayerful and dramatic, sensual and ecstatic, Monteverdi’s opulent choruses are juxtaposed with solo arias and duets which are both moving and contemplative.