“L’Incoronazione di Poppea” by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Initially I avoided this DVD “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” counducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt because I’m not big fan of the 70’s fashion even though musically, it had the best Poppea video clips on YouTube.

But after the previous two disappointing productions, I watched it and I’m much happier that I did. Once you overcame huge blue eye shadows and Technicolor pink nightgown (which was not so hard), revealed the most excellent production. This DVD might be the closest to the best among the currently available “Poppea” DVDs (I still cannot find the perfect production for this opera).

The orchestration was carefully detailed and very authentic to Monteverdian sounds. Musically, it was impressively sophisticated version of Monteverdi.

All the singers are superb. Rachel Yakar’s voice is the one of the best voice for Poppea. Especially in the garden scene, her voice was so breathtaking and out of worldly beautiful. Alexander Oliver as Arnalta also sang the most beautiful "Oblivion Soave". I also loved Paul Esswood’s voice as Otto. The boy soprano as Love (Cupid) was very good. The rest of the singers were also the very top class including tenor, Eric Tappy as Nero.

His voice was beautiful and sounded so good enough to make you think that his role was written for tenor but not for soprano if you watch this opera at the first time. His voice and Rachel Yakar’s voice also harmonized so well. And yet, I still prefer soprano voice for this role simply because Monteverdi wrote the most beautiful soprano duets for this role.

I also enjoyed the stage direction. It was well done in the Hollywood style and the spirits of this opera was well expressed throughout the production. It was nice that the boy soprano sang as Love/Cupid instead of female soprano as in the previous productions which diluted the difference between three (Love, Fortune and Virtue) being all sopranos.

Love is the above of all in this opera. You really don’t see so many arts that emphasize sexual love in the degree as in this opera. So it was not only musically but also visually important to see the symbolization of Love as sublime and pure.

I liked how they positioned these three Gods of the values (Love, Fortune and Virtue) at every decision-making scene by all of the characters. They all had both good and wicked sides which made them somehow so human.

If there is one withdraw in this production, it is the fact that not only this production but also other productions have caricatured the characters especially Nero because of the historical prejudice. The real Nero was neither angel nor evil not as much as the other historical emperors. Like the movie ‘the social network”, this opera also overly dramatizes the actual events which are not historically accurate. When Monteverdi and Giovanni Francesco Busenello wrote these beautiful music and lyrics, they were certainly not caricaturizing these characters. More than that, I think the actual events inspired them deeply.

Usually lyrics in operas are very simple, straightforward and you don’t expect much poetry out of them. But in this opera, literary, the lyrics are realistic, deep and so beautifully written (the below is the lyrics from one of Otto’s laments). This opera is the perfect marriage between beautiful music and lyrics.

“How could my sudden fury
and political calculations
ever lead me to think
of killing Poppea?
O, accursed mind,
why are you immortal, that I cannot
slaughter you, punish you?
I thought, I spoke of killing you, my love?
My demented spirit
repudiated the affection
that for a while you gave me,
gave way, fell, broke down
in a thought so loathsome and so vile?
Change this monstruous soul,
give me another less impure spirit,
in your great mercy, O gods!

Despise me as much as you wish,
hate me as much as you can,
I wish to be eclipsed by the sun of your eyes.

I shall love without hope,
in spite of fate,
my pleasure being to love you in despair.

I shall cherish my torments,
born of your lovely face,
I shall be damned, yes, but in paradise.”