L'incoronazione di Poppea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids L'incoronazione di Poppea
by Claudio Monteverdi
Title page of the 1656 publication of the libretto, with the variant spelling L'incoronatione

L'incoronazione di Poppea (which means The Coronation of Poppaea) is an opera written by Claudio Monteverdi. It was his last opera, with the story (called a libretto) written by Giovanni Francesco Busenello. It was first performed in Venice in 1643.

This opera was one of the first to tell a story using real historical events and people. It's about how Poppaea, a woman loved by the Roman emperor Nero, manages to become empress. After being performed again in Naples in 1651, the opera was mostly forgotten. But then, its music was found again in 1888, and since the 1960s, it has been performed and recorded many times around the world.

Creating the Opera

There are two main versions of the music for L'incoronazione, both from the 1650s. One was found in Venice in 1888, and the other in Naples in 1930. The Naples version is connected to a performance there in 1651. Both versions have mostly the same music. However, they are a bit different from the printed storybook (libretto).

The music for the singers usually has a simple basso continuo accompaniment. The parts for instruments are written in three or four sections, but they don't say exactly which instruments to use. This was common back then. Composers often left parts open so that musicians could adapt them to different places and instruments. Today, performances often use parts from both old versions of the music.

Who Wrote the Music?

It's a bit of a mystery how much of the music was written by Monteverdi himself. Some people think he worked with other composers. This was also common at the time, especially for older composers. Music from other composers has been found in the scores. It's believed that Monteverdi guided the project, working with people like Francesco Sacrati, Benedetto Ferrari, and Francesco Cavalli.

Characters in the Story

The opera has 28 singing characters. However, the original performances used fewer singers. This was possible because actors would play more than one role. For example, the 1643 show might have used only 11 singers. These included two female sopranos, three male sopranos, two altos, two tenors, and two basses.

Here are some of the main characters and who might have sung them in the first show:

Opera's Story and Music

The opera is divided into three acts, each with several scenes. Each scene usually has a mix of singing styles. These include recitative (like talking in song), arioso (more melodic than recitative, but not a full song), aria (a solo song), and parts for groups of singers. Sometimes, there are also instrumental parts called sinfonia. It can be hard to tell where one musical part ends and another begins because the music flows very smoothly.

For example, in Act 1, Scene III, Poppea and Nerone sing "Signor, deh, non partire!" (My lord, oh, do not go!). In Act 2, Scene V, Valletto and Damigella sing "Sento un certo non so che" (I feel a certain something). A famous duet, "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo" (I gaze at you, I possess you), is sung by Nerone and Poppea at the very end of the opera.

Recordings of the Opera

The first recording of L'incoronazione was made in 1954. It was a live performance and even won an award! This recording came out before the opera became popular again with a big show in 1962.

In the years that followed, many different recordings were made. Some conductors, like Nikolaus Harnoncourt, tried to make the music sound as it would have in Monteverdi's time. They used old instruments and tried to follow the original style. Other recordings, like one by Raymond Leppard, used a larger, more modern orchestra.

More recently, many versions of the opera have been released on DVD. This lets people watch the full stage performances. These newer recordings often use period instruments to give an experience closer to what the first audiences heard.

Images for kids

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  Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, Monteverdi's employer when he wrote his early operas

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  Giovanni Francesco Busenello, who wrote the story for L'incoronazione di Poppea

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  The Death of Seneca (Luca Giordano, 1684)

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  From a 1962 performance: Lucano, played by Hugues Cuénod, sings with Nerone (Act 2, Scene 6)

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  Claudio Monteverdi

See also

In Spanish: La coronación de Popea para niños