L'incoronazione di Poppea: Theater an der Wien
About the Event
Claus Guth uses Monteverdi's work to make worlds collide and creates characters the audience can identify with.
Monteverdi and his librettist Busenello deal with the historical subject of the Roman emperor Nero and his scandalous wedding to Poppea. The music celebrates the sensuality of their love without omitting the trace of brutality they drag behind themselves. In addition the audience meets a wide and colourful range of characters from the Commedia dell'arte.
In the prologue Fortuna, Virtù and Amor argue who of them is in control of mankind's behavior. — The emperor Nero no longer fulfills his duty as ruler, giving all his attention to Poppea, whom he desires above everything else. Poppea on the other hand wants to become queen and uses her art of seduction to achieve her goal. The plan of Nero's wife Ottavia to have Poppea killed by her own lover Ottone is prevented by Armor who wishes to win the bet.
But, does Amor really win in the end?
Italian with German surtitles
Cast / Production
Director: Claus Guth
Set & costume design: Christian Schmidt
Light design: Olaf Winter
Choreography: Ramses Sigl
Dramaturgy: Konrad Kuhn
Ottone: Christophe Dumaux
Ottavia: Jennifer Larmore
Nerone: Valer Sabadus
Poppea: Alexa Penda
Seneca: Franz‐Josef Selig
Drusilla: Sabina Puértolas
Nutrice, Ottavias´s midwife: Marcel Beekman
Arnalta, Poppea´s midwife: José Manuel Zapata
Fortuna: Viktorija Bakan
Virtù | Pallade: Natalia Kawalek
Amore | 1. Famigliare: Jake Arditti
Valletto: Emilie Renard
Lucano | 1st sodlier | Konsul | 2. Famigliare: Rupert Charlesworth
Liberto | 2nd soldier | Konsul: Manuel Günther
Mercurio | Tribune | 3. Famigliare: Christoph Seidl
Littore | Tribune: Tobias Greenhalgh
Orchestra: Ensemble Matheus
