Enter the city’s oldest botanical garden after hours for an enchanting evening of Italian and French music from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries performed by singers and historical instrument specialists from London-based early music ensemble Musica Antica Rotherhithe.

Bring a picnic blanket, relax, and enjoy a Sunday summer’s evening in one London’s most beautiful and historic gardens as part of our Summer Garden Late series.

Musica Antica will perform music for five voices by Claudio Monteverdi and Luca Marenzio, instrumental music for theorbo and viola da gamba, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s short pastoral comedy Amor Vince Ogni Cosa – Love Conquers All.

Booking Information:

• Admission for one is £20
• Ticket Admission for two is £35
• Doors open at 6:30pm. Performances start at 7pm.
• Concession Admission rates available (Students, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Refugee Status and Asylum Seekers)

Physic Garden Café:

• Light snacks will be available.
• Due to our license, you will be unable to bring in alcohol from off the premises, any alcohol that is brought into the venue will be removed from you and left at reception until you leave. Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase at our café.

These events will go ahead whatever the weather, unless it becomes unsafe to do so. You should dress appropriately for the Great British weather.

Please bring a picnic blanket to sit on. We have a limited number of benches available, operating on a first-come, first-served basis. However, if you have mobility needs and need to sit on a bench, please do get in touch by emailing .

Performers:
Milly Atkinson (soprano)
Camilla Seale (mezzo soprano)
Tristram Cooke (countertenor)
Oliver Doyle (tenor)
Joachim Sabbat (bass)
Kristiina Watt (theorbo)
Matthew Farrell (viola da gamba)

Musica Antica Rotherhithe (musicaantica.org.uk) was founded in 2016 as a vehicle for accessible and affordable performances of rarely heard music from the 15^th – early 18^th centuries. Since then, it has grown to involve a permanent ensemble of five professional singers, violinists and continuo, with associated artists joining to perform its hallmark repertoire of 17^th century Venetian opera, as well as music of the late Middle Ages, Renaissance and early 18th century. Previous notable projects have included a production of the anonymous, one-act 17th Century comedy Lo Spedale (The Hospital, 2018, revived 2019 & 2024); the UK premiere of Michelangelo Falvetti’s (1642-1692) Il Diluvio Universale (The Great Flood, 2020); the first complete performance of Domenico Belli’s (d. 1627) L’Orfeo Dolente (Sorrowful Orpheus) since the 17th century; the first performance of music by Nicholas Lanier at the Queen’s House, Greenwich, since his time as Master of Charles I’s music (2024), and a tour of music by three female composers from 17^th century Italy – Isabella Leonarda, Barbara Strozzi and Antonia Bembo – supported by The Continuo Foundation (2023).