Is it really a love affair or a case of two power-mad people connecting? The Coronation of Poppea tells the story of the emperor Nero’s second wife, a sort of How To Succeed at Empressing Without Really Trying. We meet them onstage at Opera Theatre of St. Louis while Nerone, as he’s called in the opera, is still married to Octavia, although it’s going hot and heavy with Poppea, which is vividly shown. Bryan Miller in the Post-Dispatch explained that the show “was not for kiddies”; trust her on that, although there is no significant nudity. It’s hard to tell if Poppea is crazy for him or for the power that becoming empress would bring, but the reasons are hardly relevant.
More interesting is the behavior of Nerone to get what he wants. He cares nothing, he acknowledges, about the opinion of the people or of the senate. If he wants something, he will issue an edict to make it happen, consequences be damned. The philosopher Seneca, his counselor, (and, from historical background, his fixer) tells truth to power when he explains the possible consequences of ditching Octavia. Nerone sends one of his security guys to tell Seneca to kill himself. A charmer, that Nerone. There is – of course – a former lover of Poppea (who at this point, in real life, had already been married twice), Ottone, whom she’s spurned for Mr. Big. Octavia’s lady-in-waiting Drucilla, is crazy for Ottone, but he’s still pining for treacherous Poppea. This can only end disastrously, and the opera is sometimes described as one of the most bloodthirsty.
OTSL’s staging is certainly visually lovely, more handsome to the modern opera-goer, perhaps than the 1642 Monteverdi score. First of all, if you’re one of those people who never thought about lighting onstage, this show should bring you to your senses. It’s a remarkable example of what lighting does to a show. Hats off to Christopher Akerlind for his work there.
Hannah Clark’s aqua-blue tiled set with a ladder akin to a swimming pool’s, a barn door and what seems to be a large in-wall refrigerator give us metaphors. Clark also did the costumes, which put things into a more modern setting, although the women range from something Lady Bird Johnson might have worn to preside over a meeting of senate wives to a slinky black dress that brought to mind a sommelier in a high-end New York restaurant. Not incongruous, just interesting, you understand.
Brenton Ryan is a wonderfully controlled madman Nero. Poppea is played by Emily Fons, swooping and steaming and singing beautifully. Of the supporting cast, David Pittsinger’s Seneca (shown below) was perhaps my favorite, impressive in many ways.
The 8-person orchestra is onstage, quite fun, including some uncommon instruments like a lirone and two theorbos. Nicholas Kok conducts from one of the two harpsichords.
Stage direction is by Tim Albery, and a fine job that is, not just because there are more steps taken on a tabletop than surely ever before at OTSL. It’s a new way to add height to a staging, and it certainly works. He also manages to rein in the gory aspects to a fair degree without losing their impact.
Not your usual opera, despite its survival for centuries, but worthy for a number of reasons.
The Coronation of Poppea
through June 28
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Loretto-Hilton Center
130 Edgar Rd., Webster Groves
314-961-0644
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