Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of … Italian. Agrippina at the Royal Opera until 11 October; David Nice's Opera in Depth course at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Square, starts again on 7 October with three Monday afternoons on Agrippina. That first run made certain critics think of ruthless politicians of the then-recent past, like Margaret Thatcher and the Clintons. Article excerpt. Kosky’s setting may be modern but he resists the temptation to … Opera review: Agrippina at Royal Opera House. Further details here. Welcome to the Met, AGRIPPINA: It's about time. Thespis (opera) is the nearest we have at present to an opera featured article, and the structure used in Agrippina closely follows this. Royal Opera House, London. Skittish Met board members fearing a reprise of the Public Theater’s incendiary depiction of a President Trump-like Julius Caesar being stabbed in a 2017 Shakespeare staging need not fear. Agrippina (HWV 6) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani.Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Twenty years later — with the production’s arrival at the Met, the addition of smartphones for onstage selfies and the relaxation of some aggressive late-’90s shoulder pads — the figures brought to mind by this tale of decadence and self-enrichment have inevitably changed. Under pressure, the top of her voice can grow pinched and strident. “But of course,” he added, gesturing back toward the 3,800-seat theater, “it’s way too big.”. This Agrippina jostles for top place among the opera’s complete recordings. Agrippina. Review: Agrippina 10:09, 3rd October 2019. ‘Eurydice’ and ‘Agrippina’ Reviews: Voices Lost and Found The myth of Orpheus told with mixed results in Los Angeles; political satire transported to a modern setting in New York. Synopsis: Agrippina Select a language to update the synopsis text. Dramma per musica in three acts, music by George Frideric Handel, libretto attributed to Vincenzo Grimani, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev, directed by Barrie Kosky, Royal Opera, Monday 23rd … It was something of a scoop for the festival to engage the great … (Opera in Review). REVIEW: Agrippina. Crowe makes a lovely Poppea, but we’re also very aware of the streak of toughness that lurks behind her charm. But even then, the cast didn’t fully meet the virtuosic and sensual demands of this music. The orchestral work is more consistently brilliant than the singing. REVIEW: Agrippina. (The genre isn’t known for dark comedy.) Emma Southon likes to crack jokes, but most of all to spearhead a gender critic of ancient sources and historiography that I found extremely refreshing and interesting. George Frideric Handel. My favorite part of every opera season might come as a surprise to you. Handel and his librettist, Vincent Grimani, knew that certain stories are timeless--like corruption … And she offers tantalizing glimpses of Agrippina’s doubts. Fagioli’s metallic tone and rapid-fire coloratura, meanwhile, contrast sharply with Davies’s lyrical warmth and restraint. The Metropolitan Opera celebrated the opening of Handel's Agrippina February 6, marking the company's first production of one of the oldest works to hit its stage. English. Opera Review ‘Eurydice’ and ‘Agrippina’ Reviews: Voices Lost and Found The myth of Orpheus told with mixed results in Los Angeles; political satire transported to a … After a general sense of vocal unease in the first half, the performance seemed to settle in, gaining some confidence after intermission. Librettist. When David McVicar’s updated production of Handel’s Agrippina appeared at Brussels’s La Monnaie 20 years ago, reviews likened the opera’s Roman elite to Margaret Thatcher and the Clintons. Agrippina . Glimmerglass Opera had a particularly strong season. Agrippina at the Royal Opera House features a parade of gowns worthy of any world-leading fashion week. Agrippina was the wife of the emperor Claudius, and mother, by a previous marriage, to Nero. Joyce DiDonato is matchless in the title role, most other cast members likewise outstrip rivals and their vocal qualities are ideal for their dramatis personae.Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev repeatedly hits the sweet spot in his tempos, dynamics and realisations, the score aiming to mirror Handel’s lost original. Later, celebrating Agrippina’s ascendancy in Ogni Vento, she becomes a rock diva, singing with a microphone and playing to the gallery. Joyce DiDonato, left, in the title role and Kate Lindsey as Nerone in Handel’s “Agrippina” at the Metropolitan Opera. Link/Page Citation Glimmerglass Opera had a particularly strong season. Met titles In. 22 global ratings. Royal Opera House; Linbury theatre, London; Leeds Grand Joyce DiDonato’s stop-at-nothing empress leads a top ensemble cast in Barrie Kosky’s enthralling Agrippina. The ending is unnerving, though Kosky omits a scene in which Juno hastily descends from Olympus to confer blessings on errant humanity below, and replaces it with music from L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato. ‘The ambitious are bound by no laws,” we are told in Agrippina, Handel’s brilliantly ambiguous comedy about political manipulation and chicanery, first performed in Venice in 1709, and widely regarded as the masterpiece of his Italian period, though he never revived it after he settled in London in 1712. Agrippina @ Barbican Hall, London 31 May 2019. by Sam Smith published: 3 Jun 2019 in Opera and Classical Reviews. Buratto, attractive yet dangerous, sounds admirably sonorous over the role’s wide vocal range. I recently watched her in New York as Chiang Ch'ing in the Met's Nixon in … There is nothing overt about the president in this “Agrippina” — save, perhaps, a scene with a golf-playing emperor that actually dates back to Brussels. Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera. Through March 7 at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; 212-362-6000, metopera.org. And, of course, Handel. A list of the Agrippina coproducers—which includes Dutch National Opera… Spectacular singing ...Lucy Crowe (Poppea) and Franco Fagioli (Nerone) in Agrippina. 4.8 out of 5 stars. Joyce DiDonato. Agrippina’s would-be lovers, macho Pallante (Andrea Mastroni) and shy Narciso (Eric Jurenas), though at times marvellously funny, flap and fuss too much. The comic-grotesque manner he regularly espouses certainly suits the subject, but at times it wears thin: Agrippina is a serious comedy with a brilliantly ironic libretto, but now and again … This opera is cast in the form of opera seria generally, but diverges at times, leaving room for short ensembles and ariettes that do not stifle the drama. Tweet. 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