Enfilade

From the Venice in Peril Fund:

Jane Glover | Mozart in Venice: A Crucial Encounter

The Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, London, 9 February 2026

Pietro Longhi, A Fortune Teller at Venice, ca. 1756, oil on canvas, 59 × 49 cm (London: National Gallery, NG1334).

In December 1769, the 13-year-old Mozart and his father set out on their first journey to Italy. Over the next fifteen months they would visit all the main cities in the peninsula, absorbing Italian culture and garnering unprecedented attention and accolades. Their final stop, in the spring of 1771, was Venice. And although they came away with little immediate or evident reward, the impact of the city on the now 15-year-old boy was profound and extraordinarily consequential. In this talk, Jane Glover, acclaimed conductor and musician, explores this brief but crucial encounter between a unique prodigy and a unique city.

Jane Glover is currently enjoying her 50th season as a conductor, having made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975. She has since performed opera and concerts all over the world, including at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. A Mozart specialist, she has been Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Artistic Director of the London Mozart Players, Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music, and, since 2002, Music Director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. She is the author of Mozart’s Women, Handel in London, and Mozart in Italy.

Monday, 9 February 2026, 6.30pm. Tickets, £30 / lecture recording, £10. All proceeds will go directly towards the vital conservation work of Venice in Peril Fund.