Museum Late: Venus, Cupid and Apollo

Dates
25 November 2025, 6:00pm

Venue
Museum

Tickets
£5

Season launch announcement

Booking opens on Wednesday 13 August. RCM Friends and supporters at Core Contributor level and above have priority booking from Wednesday 6 August.

Become a member and benefit from priority booking.

An elborately painted Renaissance harpsichord

25 November 2025, 6:00pm

Venue
Museum

Tickets
£5

María Martínez Ayerz curator/director
RCM Recorder Consort

Two exceptional 16th-century instruments in the RCM Museum collection reveal the ongoing importance of classical mythology in Renaissance culture.

The lid decoration of the harpsichord (1531) by Alessandro Trasuntino depicts Venus and Cupid, while the virginal (1593) by Giovanni Celestini is illustrated with three episodes from the life of Apollo.

Mythological figures and themes are recurrent in Renaissance art and literature. In this Museum Late concert, the RCM Recorder Consort explores their presence in music. Their stories are told in Franco-Flemish chansons, Italian madrigals and English songs.

Image: Trasuntino harpsichord, RCM Museum

Plan your visit

ÃÛÑ¿TV
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS

Find out more

   South Kensington: 0.5 miles
   Gloucester Road: 0.6 miles
   High Street Kensington: 0.8 miles

   Paddington: 1.5 miles
   Victoria: 2 miles

   Santander Cycles docking station and public cycle locking facilities adjacent to RCM

The RCM provides light refreshments throughout the year. There is also a range of restaurants, cafés and other establishments nearby, most adjacent to South Kensington station.

RCM Café

The RCM Café serves barista-style coffees, sandwiches, snacks, salads and hot food. There is also access to outside seating in our new 1851 courtyard.

Opening hours: 

Monday-Friday: 8.30am-4.30pm

Saturday: 8.30am-4.30pm (term time only)

The main entrance to the RCM has eight steps up from the pavement and two inside the main doors. A lift is available for visitors with limited mobility. The lift is built into the smaller staircase to the left of the main entrance steps. There is an intercom button on the control panel, which can be seen and reached easily from the street. On arrival, press the buzzer to notify a member of RCM staff, who will come out to meet you and operate the lift for you.

All our event venues can be accessed by visitors with limited mobility via the lift at the main entrance.