Folger Consort Marks 50th Anniversary with Venetian Baroque Retrospective

Running from September 11–13, 2026, within the Folger’s Elizabethan-style Theatre, the concerts feature a selection of concerted madrigals and instrumental compositions by Claudio Monteverdi. Co-Artistic Directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall have curated the performance to reflect the ensemble’s long-standing affinity for the virtuosic, emotionally charged music that defined the early 1600s—an era contemporaneous with Shakespeare’s later works.

The program extends beyond Monteverdi to highlight his contemporaries and successors, including composers such as Giovanni Battista Fontana, Biagio Marini, and Girolamo Frescobaldi. The ensemble will feature a diverse lineup of guest artists, including sopranos Jessica Beebe and Agnes Coakley Cox, violinists Tatiana Chulochnikova and Aisslinn Nosky, harpsichordist Joseph Gascho, and William Simms on theorbo and guitar. In addition to the performances, the Folger will host pre-show artist conversations and a virtual seminar on September 9 to provide historical context for the repertoire.