Coronation of Poppea
Claudio Monteverdi
Coronation of Poppea
After the successful dramatization of Orfeo, Monteverdi’s first opera, we are going to work on another of the composer’s masterpieces – Coronation of Poppea that was first staged in 1642 (or 1643) in Venice.
The librettist Giovanni Francesco Busenello drew from the Histories by Tacitus. Roman emperor Nero repudiates his wife Ottavia as he has an affair with Poppea who gets eventually crowned as empress. The opera includes also the historical character of Seneca the philosopher, sung in very deep bass, who commits suicide to fulfil the emperor’s order. Besides these characters there are also many other roles that introduce comic elements: e.g. the nanny and two soldiers. The Coronation of Poppea will be produced by the same team that worked on Orfeo – conductor Vojtěch Spurný and director Tomáš Pilař, and of course the opera will be presented with historically informed baroque music.
It is often referred to as the first opera following a historical theme but it’s a lively story full of intrigues, passion, and violence.
Creators
- Musical arrangement:
- Vojtěch Spurný
- Conductors:
- Vojtěch Spurný
- Directed by:
- Tomáš Ondřej Pilař
- Stage Design:
- Petr Vítek
- Costume:
- Aleš Valášek
- Light Design:
- Daniel Tesař
- Script Editor:
- Zbyněk Brabec
- Choreography:
- Martin Šinták
- Assistant director:
- Jakub Hliněnský
- Musical preparation:
- Maxim Averkiev, Martin Marek
- Prompter:
- Eliška Ulrychová
- Stage manager:
- Petra Kuldová Tolašová
Prersons and actors
- Nerone:
- Filip Dámec / Vojtěch Pelka
- Poppea:
- Lucie Kaňková / Anastasia Terranova
- Octavia:
- Markéta Böhmová / Markéta Cukrová / Barbora de Nunes-Cambraia
- Ottone / 1. Senekův žák:
- Bedřich Lévi / Jan Mikušek
- Seneca:
- Josef Kovačič / Jaromír Nosek
- Arnalta:
- Jaroslav Březina / Tomáš Kořínek
- Lucano / Liberto / Tribun / 1. voják:
- Tomáš Kočan / Tomáš Lajtkep
- 2. voják / 2. Senekův žák / Nutrice:
- Ondřej Benek / Jan Tejkal
- 3. Senekův žák / Liktor / Konzul:
- Martin Blaževič / Václav Jeřábek
- Páže / Štěstěna:
- Andrea Frídová / Petra Tion, Minyoung Park
- Ctnost / Drusilla:
- Karolina Janů / Stanislava Mihalcová
- Láska (Amor) / Dvorní dáma:
- Marta Fadljevičová / Jana Piorecká
- Členové baletu DJKT, Členové Orchestru opery DJKT, Externí orchestr
Photos from the production
Photo author: Martina Root
- The opera will be performed in the Italian original with Czech subtitles.
- Before each performance there is a lecturer's introduction in the Vendelin Budil Foyer, always half an hour before the start of the performance.
