Stabat Mater by Pergolesi

On 5th March 2026, within the awe-inspiring Gothic arches of Southwark Cathedral, Red Events presents a luminous London premiere - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, performed by the worldwide-acclaimed Belgian ensemble La Chapelle Sauvage under the direction of Karel De Wilde, featuring soprano Abigail Barker and countertenor Gleb Zakharov as soloists.

Written in the final weeks of Pergolesi’s life and premiered after his death, Stabat Mater has long been regarded as one of the most beautiful works of the Baroque era - a piece whose emotional radiance transcends time, faith, and genre.

A hymn of sorrow and celestial beauty, it has inspired composers from Bach to Vivaldi, and performers from Montserrat Caballé and Barbara Hendricks to other legendary interpreters as Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Philippe Jaroussky, Nathalie Stutzmann, and Andreas Scholl - artists whose performances over the past century have elevated Pergolesi’s masterpiece to the highest international acclaim.

Now, in the heart of London’s oldest Gothic cathedral, this profound meditation on compassion and human fragility receives a new, intimate staging - conceived specifically for the sacred acoustics of Southwark Cathedral. A subtle, carefully crafted lighting design will shape the space throughout the performance, offering a contemporary visual reading that enhances rather than distracts, illuminating the emotional and architectural depth of Pergolesi’s masterpiece.

This one-night-only London premiere offers a rare opportunity to experience three sections of Pergolesi’s masterpiece exactly as it would have sounded in his own time - performed in the authentic Neapolitan church pitch used in 18th-century Naples, in lower, warmer tuning which lends the music a darker, more velvety colour.