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Death of Gesualdo

Following 30 cities of largely sold-out performances, The Gesualdo Six reunites with director Bill Barclay to create a follow-up to the hit show, 'Secret Byrd'.
Carlo Gesualdo, the Prince of Venosa, was an extraordinary Renaissance composer. Despite his musical brilliance, years ahead of his time, he is historically infamous for murdering his wife and her lover in bed. In a life marked by psychological turmoil and violence, his final years were filled with self-flagellation and despair.
In Barclay's new, original staging, the singers are joined on stage by six actors and a puppet. They strike stunning tableaux vivant (living pictures), filled with iconography, to superimpose Gesualdo's psyche onto his most chilling music. The music is centred around Gesualdo's Tenebrae, the mass that Gesualdo wrote for his own death, and his most fascinating madrigals. Choreography comes from world-renowned Will Tuckett.
The result is the boldest look yet at how the life and music of this enigmatic prodigy must be combined for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows.
'It's a cut above anything that's gone before. The subject matter may be gruesome, but the staging, singing and acting are sublime.' – Richard Morrison, The Times
'The Gesualdo Six are outstanding… A creepy juxtaposition of beauty and horror, like the music of Gesualdo itself.' – The Guardian
Turner Sims
Tue, 20 Oct 2026
Turner Sims, Southampton
7:30pm
£10 - £45 (conc. available)- ➕2 other performances
Full Event Details
Concert Theatre Works brings together the internationally celebrated vocal group The Gesualdo Six, six actors, and groundbreaking puppetry in a uniquely intense drama.
Following 30 cities of largely sold-out performances, The Gesualdo Six reunites with director Bill Barclay to create a follow-up to the hit show, 'Secret Byrd'.
Carlo Gesualdo, the Prince of Venosa, was an extraordinary Renaissance composer. Despite his musical brilliance, years ahead of his time, he is historically infamous for murdering his wife and her lover in bed. In a life marked by psychological turmoil and violence, his final years were filled with self-flagellation and despair.
In Barclay's new, original staging, the singers are joined on stage by six actors and a puppet. They strike stunning tableaux vivant (living pictures), filled with iconography, to superimpose Gesualdo's psyche onto his most chilling music. The music is centred around Gesualdo's Tenebrae, the mass that Gesualdo wrote for his own death, and his most fascinating madrigals. Choreography comes from world-renowned Will Tuckett.
The result is the boldest look yet at how the life and music of this enigmatic prodigy must be combined for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows.
'It's a cut above anything that's gone before. The subject matter may be gruesome, but the staging, singing and acting are sublime.' – Richard Morrison, The Times
'The Gesualdo Six are outstanding… A creepy juxtaposition of beauty and horror, like the music of Gesualdo itself.' – The Guardian
Venue Details & Map
Location
Turner Sims, Southampton
University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ
Other performances
In addition to the performance listed above, this concert will also be performed as follows:
Death of Gesualdo
Fri, 12 Mar 2027
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
8:00pm
£10 - £60
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Death of Gesualdo
Sat, 13 Mar 2027
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
7:00pm
£10 - £60
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Show past performances of this programme

