Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea

” There are musically fine performances in Italian with surtitles. Poppea – not quite standard repertoire – is a strange piece in many ways, not least by having the emperor Nero as its (anti)hero.  There is one of the most ravishing closing duets in all baroque opera.  Nero and Poppea rejoice together at her being crowned as his new empress, and time seems to stand still at their mutual musical rapture.  Having disposed of a number of people opposed to the marriage, including Nero’s tutor Seneca, and current wife Ottavia, they appear to show not a hint of conscience or regret. Helen May – sweetly voiced but neurotically anxious as Poppea – and Julia Portela Piňőn’s dark-toned Nero blended beautifully.

The opera can be read as a celebration of primitive instincts overcoming moral constraints.  This is very much the point made in the allegorical prologue, where Virtue and Fortune (what today we might call conscience and luck or privilege) acknowledge the superior power of Love (what today we might call sex).  The ‘virtuous’ characters Seneca and Ottavia offer some wonderful vocal opportunities.

Once you know that Nero subsequently killed Poppea by giving her a kick when pregnant, this celebration of instinct feels rather more ambivalent.  The production shows an awareness of the grim outcome of their marriage. Its grasp of history is less than secure, as Ottone (Poppea’s ex) is executed rather than pardoned.  This is dramatically neater, but history rather untidily requires him to survive, as he subsequently became emperor after Nero (but only briefly).

The intimate space of the theatre – where even an arch lute can be easily heard – enables the singers to make a direct impact through what they sing.”