Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) opens its first season under new Music Director Laurence Cummings on Tuesday, September 28 with Haydn’s The Creation.

Co-produced by the Barbican, the performance will include a visual narrative from projection designer Nina Dunn. The AAM choir and orchestra are joined by a solo cast including Mary Bevan, Stuart Jackson, Brindley Sherratt, Rachel Redmond and Ashley Riches.

Cummings said, “The Creation is the most life-affirming work, a paean to joy that teems with energy. It manages to rejoice in nature with such spirituality without demanding belief in any set of systems. I’m interested in how we can live the drama of the piece and find something that’s very human. We want to enhance people’s understanding of the work and the arc of its journey from chaos to beautiful order. They won’t be just soothed, but experience something engaging, and ultimately transformative.”

The performance marks the beginning of AAM’s 2021-22 season, the first part of which includes eight performances across the Barbican, Milton Court and West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge. Further concerts at the Barbican and Milton Court will be announced in autumn 2021.

The season celebrates New Worlds and includes works by Handel, Rameau and Geminiani with narrator Josette Simon OBE (Weds 27 & Thurs 28 Oct 2021); an exploration of the work of the priest, traveller and composer Domenico Zipoli with vocal ensemble VOCES8 (Weds 24 & Thurs 25 Nov 2021); and an evening of with international mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg (Weds 9 March 2022).

More information: https://www.aam.co.uk/aam-announces-2021-22-season-new-worlds/

Image: Laurence Cummings

Photography: Robert Workman