L'Incoronazione di Poppea

This production of Claudio Monteverdi's 1643 opera—built around the palace intrigue resulting from egomaniacal Roman emperor Nero's determination to set aside his wife, Ottavia, and marry Poppea, the ex-wife of his friend Ottone—offers a rather stark contrast to the recent release of Ole Anders Tandberg's staging for the Norwegian National Opera (VL-7/12). Tandberg's version emphasized drama over the comic aspects, reveling in the story's blood and gore via stylized black-and-white visuals with red accents. David Alden's 2009 mounting at Barcelona's Grand Teatre del Liceu, on the other hand, stresses the comedy, opting for often garish, multicolored modern costumes and rather tacky sets (Alden doesn't ignore the tragic elements, but plays them at a lower pitch than in the Norwegian mounting). Musically there's a significant difference as well: Tandberg featured a countertenor Nero, while here Sarah Connolly performs the part as a trousers (or toga) role. Connolly is excellent, as are Miah Persson as Poppea, Maite Beaumont as Ottavia, Franz-Josef Selig as Seneca, and Jordi Domènech (a countertenor) as Ottone, and the scaled-down Liceu Baroque Orchestra plays tidily for conductor Harry Bicket. Although the Netherlands Opera production staged by Pierre Audi remains the best of all, it's only available in a boxed set containing three other Monteverdi works (VL-11/07). Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include an illustrated synopsis and a cast gallery. Recommended. (F. Swietek)