Guest
With her husband apparently drowned at sea, a scheming empress secures the throne for her son from another marriage. But the commander of the army has other ideas, and then the emperor returns, very much alive. Drottningholm Palace Theatre (Drottningholms slottsteater in Swedish), located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with original stage machinery. The beautiful rococo backdrop is the starting point for this production of Agrippina. Bente Lykke Møller’s costumes and scenery place the male characters in grey togas, alongside Agrippina and Poppea, who travel through the centuries in women’s fashion (in discreet colours, with make-up and wigs by Sofia Ranow). This journey stops before the present day, perhaps leaving audiences to bridge the gap between the scheming heroine and figures in today’s world. If not political, director Staffan Valdemar Holm’s production is certainly comic, built around the egomania of one of opera’s most outrageous leading women, sung by Sweden star mezzo-soprano, Ann Hallenberg. The young Handel packed Agrippina with the full range of his astonishing imagination, setting a libretto at once hilarious, moving and clever. The Italian conductor and harpsichordist Francesco Corti, a regular collaborator of the orchestras Les Musiciens du Louvre and Il Pomo d’Oro, presides over Handel’s music which is bursting with originality and fun, as well as carefully considered moments of great beauty. CAST Claudio Nahuel Di Pierro Agrippina Ann Hallenberg Nerone Bruno de Sá Poppea Roberta Mameli Ottone Kristina Hammarström Pallante Giacomo Nanni Narciso Kacper Szelążek Lesbo Mikael Horned Orchestra The Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra Music George Frideric Handel Text Vincenzo Grimani Conductor Francesco Corti Director Staffan Valdemar Holm Sets and costumes Bente Lykke Møller Lighting Torben Lendorph Wigs and make-up Sofia Ranow
