L'incoronazione di Poppea at Glyndebourne

My first, of three, trips to Glyndebourne this year was to see L'incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi.

As usual it was stunning and for the usual reasons; the singing, the music and the staging.

Glyndebourne goes for simple but effective staging that allows the music to dominate, as it should.

Here the main prop was a large red curtain that moved to create different shapes for different settings. This was usually complimented by a single item such as a table (pictured here), a bed or a bath. They also used a large red drape to great effect as bedding, clothing and flooring.

The opera has a complex story that is conveyed by the singing and so there was relatively little for the orchestra to do. The fact that they went largely unnoticed should be taken as a compliment.

The story has a happy ending of sorts, the coronation of Poppea, but the only really nice person, who represents virtue, is the one casualty and so it is hard to rejoice when the two main protagonists get the outcome they wanted.

The large cast all played their roles admirably in both their singing and their acting which made the long opera a joy from beginning to end.