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Claudio Monteverdi, L'Incoronazione di Poppea

Prologue

Prologue: "Deh' nasconditi, o virtu" (Fortuna, Virtu, Amore)

I, 1: "E pure io torno qui" (Ottone)

I, 2: "Chi parla? Chi parla?" (Chorus)

I, 3: "Signor, deh, non partire" (Poppea, Nerone)

I, 4: "Speranza tu mi vai" (Poppea, Arnalta)

I, 5: "Disprezzata Regina" (Ottavia, Nutrice)

I, 6: "Ecco la sconsolata donna" (Seneca, Ottavia, Valletto)

I, 7: "Le porpore regali" (Seneca)

I, 9: "Son risoluto alfine" (Nerone, Seneca)

I, 10: "Come dolci, signor" (Poppea, Nerone)

I, 11: "Quell'eccelso diadema" (Nerone, Poppea)

I, 12 : "Ad altri tocca in sorte" (Ottone, Poppea, Arnalta)

I, 13: "Otton, otton, torna in te stesso" (Ottone)

I, 14: "Pur sempre con Poppea" (Drusilla, Ottone)

II, 1: "Solitudine amata" (Seneca, Mercurio)

II, 2: "Il comando tiranno" (Liberto, Seneca)

II, 3: "Amici, e giunta l'hora" (Seneca, Choir)

II, 5 : "Hor che Seneca e morto" (Nerone, Lucano)

II, 6: "Idolo mio" (Nerone)

II, 4: "Sento un certo non se che" (Valletto, Damigella)

II, 7: "I mieli subiti sdegni" (Ottone)

II, 8: "Tu che dagli avi miei" (Ottavia, Ottone)

II, 9: "Felice cor mio" (Drusilla, Valletto, Nutrice)

II, 10: "Io non so dov'io vada" (Ottone, Drusilla)

II, 11: "Hor che Seneca e morto" (Poppea, Arnalta)

II, 12: "Dorma, l'incauta dorme" (Amore)

II, 13: "Eccomi trasformato" (Ottone, Amore, Poppea, Arnalta)

III, 1: "O felice Drusilla" (Drusilla)

III, 2: "Ecco la scellerata" (Arnalta, Drusilla, Littore)

III, 3: "Signor, ecco la rea" (Arnalta, Nerone, Drusilla, Littore)

III, 4: "No, questa sentenza" (Ottone, Drusilla, Nerone)

III, 5: "Signori, hoggi rinasco" (Poppea, Nerone)

III, 6: "Hoggi sara Poppea" (Arnalta)

III, 7: "A dio, Roma" (Ottavia)

III, 8: "Ascendi, o mia diletta" (Nerone, Poppea, Choir, Amore)

III, Finale: "Pur ti miro" (Poppea, Nerone)

Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea

Ted Huffman (stage director), Leonardo García Alarcón (conductor) — Elsa Benoit (Poppaea), Jake Arditti (Nero) ...

Opera
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Cast

Ted Huffman — Stage director

Johannes Schütz — Stage design

Anna Wörl — Scenography

Astrid Klein — Costumes designer

Bertrand Couderc — Lighting

Pim Veulings — Movement director

Antonio Cuenca Ruiz — Dramaturgy

Maud Morillon — Assistant stage director

Program notes

Whispers on the wind among the stone columns, daggers hidden in the folds of togas, a marble pattern stained with blood… What better place to stage Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea than the Palace of Versailles itself?

Under the direction of the remarkable Leonardo García Alarcón and Ted Huffman, this historical drama with a libretto by Busenello comes to life with striking relevance. The plot narrates the social climbing exploits of Poppea, a mistress of Nero who becomes his wife—and thus the Empress. Her enemies? Put to the sword… Such is the fate of Seneca (flawlessly performed by Alex Rosen), Stoic philosopher and a one-time teacher of Nero, who chooses to die rather than live under enemy rule. While the composer’s historical source, Tacitus, favors a dark depiction of Poppea, Monteverdi’s character emerges in a more ambivalent light, as she is also capable of great love. Elsa Benoit’s refined interpretation helps the public appreciate the character’s complexities, strengths, and ambiguities.

Besides, as the allegorical prologue of the opera says, it is neither Virtue nor Fortune that drives the history of humankind—it is Love itself, as L’incoronazione di Poppea amply demonstrates!

Photo © Ian Rice

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