Joyce DiDonato as Agrippina Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Sunday 29 March 2020 at 6pm on RNZ Concert
Metropolitan Opera Season: Agrippina
HANDEL: Agrippina
Cast:
Joyce DiDonato (Agrippina), Brenda Rae (Poppea), Kate Lindsey (Nerone), Iestyn Davies (Ottone), Nicholas Tamagne (Narciso), Duncan Rock (Pallante), Matthew Rose (Claudio), Christian Zarembe (Lesbo), Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra/Harry Bicket
Recorded in the Metropolitan Opera House, New York (Met Opera)
Brenda Rae as Poppea and Kate Lindsey as Nerone Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Handel’s tale of intrigue and impropriety in ancient Rome receives its first Met performances, with star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the controlling, power-hungry Agrippina and Harry Bicket conducting. Sir David McVicar’s production ingeniously reframes the action of this black comedy about the abuse of power to “the present,” where it should loudly resonate. The all-star cast features mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey as Agrippina’s son and future emperor Nerone, soprano Brenda Rae as the seductive Poppea, countertenor Iestyn Davies as the ambitious officer Ottone, and bass Matthew Rose as the weary emperor Claudius.
Joyce DiDonato as Agrippina Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
This early Italian opera of Handel was a success that secured the composer’s international reputation and played a large role in paving the way for his lucretive and high-profile subsequent career in London. While he continued to develop artistically for the next 50 years, his entire life’s genius is perfectly evident in this first great operatic accomplishment. Even today, the issues at stake in 'Agrippina' - the power plays, sexual politics, and cults of personality played out against a fickle public - continue to resonate.
Joyce DiDonato as Agrippina and Brenda Rae as Poppea Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was born in Germany, trained extensively in the music capitals of Italy, and spent most of his brilliant career in London. His great choral and orchestral works have remained extraordinarily popular up to the present day, and his theatrical creations were instrumental in introducing Italian opera to the British public.
Vincenzo Cardinal Grimani (1652 or 1655–1710) was a career diplomat who also supplied libretti for opera composers, the text for 'Agrippina' being his most famous.
Joyce DiDonato as Agrippina Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
'Agrippina' was originally set in Rome, late in the reign of the Emperor Claudius (d. 54 C.E.), but Sir David McVicar’s staging updates the action to the current day: an era in which sly posturing and sometimes-questionable tactics continue to drive political discourse.
