POPPEA

When:
12/05/2017 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
2017-05-12T19:30:00+01:00
2017-05-12T22:00:00+01:00
Where:
Jacksons Lane
Archway Rd
Highgate, London N6 5AA
UK
Cost:
£20-27 + booking fee
Contact:
Martin Musgrave
07590567790

12th to 21st May

Jacksons Lane Theatre, Archway Rd, Highgate

Director – Simon Iorio

Musical Director – Oliver John Ruthven

With period orchestra Musica Poetica

Click here to buy tickets

Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, the third of his three surviving operas, rightly occupies an elevated position in the history of the genre. It is a masterpiece of text setting and musical invention, at a time when opera as we know it today was very new, and certainly not performed in anything like the same way. Monteverdi was blessed to be able to set a particularly fine libretto, written Giovanni Busenello, perhaps the first great opera librettist, and Da Ponte’s literary forefather.

For HGO, performing this wonderful work is a very important milestone, particularly given that we coincide with the 450th anniversary of Monteverdi’s birth. Indeed, we will be performing it on Monteverdi’s exact birthday, Thursday 18th May. This production also marks the first time that HGO will perform an opera in its original language (other than English), together with the first time that we will perform with surtitles. This is an indication of our pledge as a training opera company to give our singers a complete experience of performing opera, as well as giving our audiences a presentation of this work with not only the authentic music, but also the authentic text.

HGO will be joined by an array of period instruments for Poppea; two harpsichords, chamber organ, two theorbos, viola da gamba, violone and violins. This promises to be a vibrant and exciting production of one of the greatest works of art of the seventeenth century, and one not to be missed.