Set at the court of the Emperor Nero as he schemes to replace his wife Octavia with his lover Poppea.
Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea has a bleak and violent answer to the question, “How far would you go for love?”
With startlingly modern music and characterisation, Monteverdi’s opera was one of the first operatic masterpieces and a fitting showcase for a woman who cut a dash through the patriarchal world of ancient Rome.
Robin Norton-Hale directs this new production, with multi-genre musician and composer Yshani Perinpanayagam as conductor and arranger and a new English translation of the libretto from poet and classicist Helen Eastman. Design comes from the award-winning Basia Bińkowska.
This production will be conducted by James Ham.
Performed in English with English subtitles.