L'incoronazione di Poppea February 1, 2013

February 1-2, 8pm, February 3, 3pm

Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea in a new performing edition created by Mark Streshinsky and Gilbert Martinez. Sung in Italian with English supertitles.

Poppea is one of the earliest operas. But even in 1642 when it was written, sensuality ruled the day. Emperor Nero can't get his mind off the beautiful Poppea. He thinks about her more than he thinks about his country. He certainly thinks about her more than he thinks about the Empress.

Nero is international recording artist Christine Brandes. Poppea is Emma McNairy, last seen on the WEO stage in Ariadne auf Naxos. Ottone, Poppea's spurned lover, is Ryan Belongie, an alum of the Adler Fellow program. The cast also includes Tonia D'Amelio, Erin Neff, Brian Thorsett and Paul Thompson. Mark Streshinsky directs and MusicSources Artistic Director Gilbert Martinez conducts from the harpsichord. Projection design is by Lucas Krech.

Written when the genre of opera was only a few decades old, the music for L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea) has been praised for its originality, its melody, and for its reflection of the human attributes of its characters. It helped to redefine the boundaries of theatrical music. Poppea was first performed in Venice during the 1642-43 carnival season and established Claudio Monteverdi as the leading musical dramatist of his time. The libretto is by Giovanni Francesco Busenello. It is one of the first operas to use historical events and people rather than classical mythology, and draws from the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius and others to recount how Poppea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, achieves her ambition to be crowned empress.

Official Website: http://westedgeopera.org/poppea.shtml