It’s a bit like the mid-year exam for the soloists of the Académie de l’Opéra. In a decentralized place, this time the Athénée theater where they sing Il Nerone (the Nero), another title of the Coronation of Poppea, work-testament of Monteverdi (1642) who however had time to hear it. The singers are directed by Vincent Dumestre in a staging by Alain Françon.
A breathtaking opera
Great work this Coronation of Poppea where Monteverdi tries out a variety of climates punctuated with painful pages. The operatic genre has just been created – it is about forty years old. Monteverdi is himself one of those who set the rules with his Orfeo (chronicle of June 7, 2021) Here, he goes further: sadness, greatness, lamentation, revenge, the diversity of affects, of characters, the characterization of voices: a very long, ambitious work (almost three hours), this Coronation of Poppea, whose all the pages might not be by Monteverdi, has in any case the ambition, the constant beauty. The often sung final duet, Pure ti miro (Poppée et Néron), magnificent, does not appear in the two known manuscripts of the work, but Monteverdi’s manuscript has itself been lost…
Néron (Fernando Escalona) in front of his statue C) Vincent Lappartient, Studio I love what you do-OnP
Intrigues in the time of Nero
These are the elements that Vincent Dumestre carefully points out to explain that we will hear in conclusion a great chorus wanted, that is certain, by Monteverdi. And hay also a few characters sacrificed to give the work a more human dimension. Exit then – sorry: exeunt – Mercury, Pallas (Athena) and Venus, Roman gods who, in the great Baroque machinery, have all their places to accompany or direct the follies of men.
The Coronation of Poppea however, takes place at a time in the history of Rome when greatness, triumph and austerity of morals no longer existed. Nero, emperor, is married to Octavie, whom he no longer loves, and sets his sights on Poppea, wife of Otho, who only aspires to become empress. A plot later (that of Octavie who seeks to kill her rival but will fail), the two lovers will finally get married and Poppea will be crowned.
Poor Ottavie (Lucie Peyramaure) C) Vincent Lappartient, Studio I love what you do-OnP
The god of Love at work
Told the story in this way would be too simple. Besides the plot which stages a certain Drusilla, secretly in love with Othon (one would almost believe oneself at Racine’s, without however the tragic grandeur), there remain in the Dumestre-Françon version three minor gods, including Cupid (Cupid) who unravels the sentimental pitfalls in front of Virtue and Fortune, more discreet and which struggle a little to exist. This is the main criticism that will be made of Alain Françon’s staging: behind a golden curtain that Amour strives to have the stagehands open and close, the scenes follow one another without the characters really intersect, to the point that we get mixed up a bit if we don’t really know the work. The second part -because things are rushing!- works much better, with more dynamism and a certain elegance.
The valet (Xenia Prochina), Drusilla (Martina Russomanno), Ottavie’s nanny (Lise Nougier) C) V. Lappartient, St. I love what you do-OnP
Staging more than staging
Elegance naturally possessed by Françon, who at first we think will return to his natural sobriety. The plateau, indeed, is not very cluttered; but pretty, timeless elements play their part like objects placed in those palaces with large often empty rooms that there were probably in Rome and in the principalities at the time of Monteverdi: a gilded head of Nero… that Néron contemplates a meridian where Poppea dozes in front of a painted canvas of a flower garden (we are almost facing a Josephine of Antiquity) Far from baroque machinery, far from Michel Fau. Nevertheless: we have more the feeling of a setting in space with heroes parading than of the choreography inhabited by beings of flesh and blood.
Poppée (Marine Chagnon) and her nanny Arnalta (Léo Fernique) C) Vincent Lappartient, Studio I love what you do-OnP
The triumph of the countertenors
It is undoubtedly in the characterization of the characters that this Coronation of Poppea is the smartest. Starting with a coquettish, elegantly ambitious Poppée, and Marine Chagnon excels there, more than in the scenes where she coos with her lover. Fernando Escalona is an extravagant and extroverted Nero, haughty as one might wish, as we noticed during the Mozart gala concert (chronicle of February 8); he manages to play this impossible role, constantly in the treble of the countertenor, with great success, if one likes the exacerbated style à la Fagioli. Moving Othon by Leopold Gilloots-Laforge (who is not at the Academy) lacking a bit of stage presence but also has a pretty countertenor voice. An Ottavie entrusted to Lucie Peyramaure (also outside the Academy) who puts emotion in her air of exile Addio Roma, addio patria where an Anne Sofie von Otter was so admirable thirty years ago: Ottavie by Peyramaure, however, lacks presence.
We will add to the two countertenors already mentioned a third in the role of Poppea’s ambitious nurse, Arnalta (role written for a contralto), the very amusing and well-singing Léo Fernique whose character swells at the end of the work of feathers that he does not yet have.
Ottavie (Lucie Peyramaure) and her nanny (Lise Nougier) supervising Seneca (Alejandro Balinas Vieites) C) V. Lappartient, St. I love what you do-OnP
The residents of the Academy are doing well
Finally, we will make an inventory of the other true residents of the Académie de l’Opéra whom we had already applauded in January during their Mozart gala concert. The important and charming role of Amour is nicely played by Xenia Prochina, always a beautiful voice with a sure technique and who still needs to work on her acting fantasy and her vocal contrasts. Martina Russomanno is a little extinct in Fortune but largely makes up for it in Drusilla, presence, emotion, elegance of singing. Likewise Lise Nougier, Virtue of quality but who surprises especially in the role of the other Nurse, that of Octavie, by her presence, her pretty reserve which does not prevent some surprising dance steps.
The men are very good, in particular the remarkable Seneca by Alejandro Baunas Vieites (who did not sing at the gala), deep bass, superb projection, great dignity of the character in the air of his suicide. We find in a secondary role Yorgo Ioannou who keeps company with Léo Vermot Desroches and Thomas Ricart, very well in their duo of soldiers but Vermot Desroches, in Lucain, has a little difficulty in standing up to the flamboyant Néron d’Escalona.
Lecture by Néron (Fernando Escalona) and Lucain (Léo Vermot Desroches) C) Vincent Lappartient, Studio I love what you do-OnP
The real story will be more tragic…
Vincent Dumestre chose a small group of musicians from his Poème Harmonique: they are eight in total, mainly strings (including the lirone, a sort of viola da gamba which did not survive Monteverdi’s time!) up to the theorbo, with harp and harpsichord. Slightly saturated strings, which could have more suppleness in the first part, more airy and well-sounding ensemble afterwards, where the harpsichord is more present. But the sound, the accents, the understanding of the feelings, are there.
Around Love (Xenia Prochina) Fortune (Martina Russomanno) and Vertu (Lise Nougier) flanking Néron (Fernando Escalona) and Poppée (Marine Chagnon) In the background Thomas Ricart and Yorgo Ioannou C) V. Lappartient-St. I love what you do-OnP
The tragic story of the characters will go beyond the happy final scene and Nero’s “pardon” to the plotters. Ottavie will be ordered to commit suicide in exile. Poppea herself will experience the fall after the triumph, killed by Nero with a kick in the stomach which will be fatal to her, being pregnant. Othon will be one of Nero’s successors, reigning himself only a few months before perishing in battle against his own successor, Vitellius. Did Monteverdi think about it by haloing the work with so much melancholy and sometimes pain?
It is true, there was no need for the gods to justify the madness of men.
The Coronation of Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi, directed by Alain Françon, musical direction by Vincent Dumestre, a Paris Opera production at the Théâtre de l’Athénée, Paris, on March 6 at 3 p.m., March 8, 10 and 12 at 8 p.m. time.
The show will then go to the Opéra de Dijon (21000) on March 20, 22, 24 and 26 (same times during the week and on Sundays) and to the Maison de la Culture d’Amiens (80000) on April 1 at 8 p.m. 30.