Details of AAM's 2026/27 season: Promethean, have just been announced. Join us for a series of concerts shaped by daring ideas and artists who pushed beyond the limits of their time.
The season features major vocal works including Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and Handel’s Brockes-Passion, alongside imaginative collaborations with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and contemporary circus company Circa.
Vocal landmarks
Large scale vocal works form the backbone of the season. In November, Laurence Cummings conducts Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (17 Nov 2026) at the Barbican Hall in a concert performance featuring Anna Dennis as Poppea and Ed Lyon as Nerone, Katie Bray as Ottavia, and Christopher Lowrey as Ottone .
The orchestra returns to the Barbican Hall on Good Friday with Handel’s Brockes-Passion (26 Mar 2027), a work now closely associated with AAM. In 2019, we presented a landmark 300th anniversary performance of the Brockes-Passion and released a widely acclaimed recording, helping to restore a long-neglected masterpiece to the repertoire. This forthcoming performance will once again bring this powerful Passion to life, with soloists including Elizabeth Watts (Tochter Sion).
International collaborations
The 2026/27 season also features several distinctive collaborations. In May, AAM is joined by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste for a programme pairing JS Bach and Arvo Pärt (Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, 7 May and Barbican Hall, 8 May 2027). Bach’s Cantata BWV4 and the motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied appear alongside Pärt’s Fratres, L’Abbé Agathon and Missa Syllabica.
In June, AAM partners with the internationally acclaimed contemporary circus company Circa for a performance of Beethoven’s only ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus (24 Jun 2027). Directed by Circa’s Yaron Lifschitz, the production combines Beethoven’s music with striking physical theatre to reimagine the ancient myth of Prometheus for modern audiences.
Inventive programmes
The season in Cambridge and at Milton Court in London opens with 1765: Times of Transition, an exploration of the turbulent musical world of the 1760s, including Mozart’s Symphony No. 1, Haydn’s Symphony No. 39 and Telemann’s late cantata Ino, with American soprano Amanda Forsythe, whose recording of the work won Best Classical Solo Vocal Recording at the 2026 Grammy Awards (30 Sept and 1 Oct 2026).
The harpsichord is the focus of a special programme led by longtime AAM Principal Alastair Ross (2 and 3 Dec). Chamber forces take centre stage in February with Beethoven’s popular Septet paired with Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Piano Septet (10 and 11 Feb 2027). In April, the orchestra travels back to the court of Charles I with a programme of seventeenth century English and Italian instrumental music centred on William Lawes’s The Royall Consort (21 and 22 Apr 2027).
Booking information
The 2026/27 season runs from 30 September 2026 to 24 June 2027 with concerts in Cambridge and at London’s Barbican Hall and Milton Court.
Subscribe and save across the year: book the full season of concerts in Cambridge, or a multi-buy package at the Barbican, and save 15% on your tickets for each event.
London on sale dates
Priority booking for AAM Friends, Associates and Academy members
From Mon 20 April 2026
General booking
From Fri 24 April 2026
For further details and to book tickets in London, please visit the Barbican website.
Cambridge on sale dates
Full series subscriptions
From Thu 14 May 2026
Priority booking for AAM Friends, Associates and Academy members
From Mon 22 June 2026
General booking
From Wed 1 July 2026
Further details for booking or renewing subscriptions in Cambridge will be updated soon. If you are a Friends, Associates or Academy member, you will receive your priority booking codes by email ahead of booking dates.
Performance dates
1765: Times of Transition
Mozart, Haydn, Telemann and Philidor: four composers in a passionate age, reinventing music on the wing. A dynamic start to a season of music that defies convention.
Wednesday 30 September 2026
West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Thursday 1 October 2026
Milton Court Concert Hall, London
L’incoronazione di Poppea
Monteverdi’s most sensuous and scandalous opera, performed in concert by Laurence Cummings, Academy of Ancient Music and a stellar cast.
Tuesday 17 November 2026
Barbican Hall, London
The Art of the Harpsichord
Harpsichordist Alastair Ross plays Bach, Handel, Laschanzky and their contemporaries – celebrating an instrument that liberated the baroque imagination.
Wednesday 2 December 2026
West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Thursday 3 December 2026
Milton Court Concert Hall, London
Septet: Beethoven & Hummel
Academy of Ancient Music plays Septets by Beethoven and Hummel – giants of the Romantic revolution, relaxing among friends.
Wednesday 10 February 2027
West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Thursday 11 February 2027
Milton Court Concert Hall, London
Handel: Brockes-Passion
On Good Friday, Academy of Ancient Music rediscovers Handel’s Brockes-Passion – the story of the Crucifixion, retold in music that blazes with emotion.
Friday 26 March 2027
Barbican Hall, London
The Royall Consort
The Royall Consort of King Charles I was at the cutting edge of 17th century music, and today it lives again with Academy of Ancient Music.
Wednesday 21 April 2027
West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Thursday 22 April 2027
Milton Court Concert Hall, London
JS Bach / Arvo Pärt
Mystery, wonder and sounds to refresh the spirit, as Academy of Ancient Music and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir perform timeless testaments to faith.
Friday 7 May 2027
Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge
Saturday 8 May 2027
Barbican Hall, London
Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus
Academy of Ancient Music joins the phenomenal Circa in a thrillingly physical reinvention of Beethoven’s only ballet.
Thursday 24 June 2027
Barbican Hall, London