• 18
  • 19
    Nov. 2023

OPERA À LA CARTE
IN COLLABORATION WITH L'ORCHESTRE DE L'AGORA

NOVEMBER 18, 2023 → 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2023 → 2 PM

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Preview

  • 7:30 PM Start
Hall
Salle Pierre-Mercure
Venue
Centre Pierre-Péladeau
Language: 
Italian (Subtitles : English and French)
Duration: 
2h40
Intermission: 
20

Summary

An air of mystery surrounds Monteverdi’s last opera. As the original version has been lost, musicologists have had no other choice but to use a copy whose libretto differs greatly. Nevertheless, The Coronation of Poppea remains a gem of Italian opera and stands out as an innovative and powerful work, where the music combined with dramatic action confronts us with our own contradictions.

Ambitious and cruel, the emperor Nero will do anything to achieve his ends. With no regard to his wife Octavia, he takes the irresistible Poppea as his mistress. Equally ambitious, she has her eyes set on the crown. Together, nothing and no one can stop them. With Octavia exiled, Poppea will take her place on the throne. Which one will triumph: adulterous love or carnal desire?

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Composer

Claudio Monteverdi  >

Stage Director

Aria Umezawa  >

With her quirky, irreverent style, Aria Umezawa (she/her)’s work evokes wonder and challenges the long-established traditions of opera and classical music. The stage director, producer, and writer is a co-founder of Amplified Opera, the independent, equity-seeking opera company and current Disruptor-in-Residence at the Canadian Opera Company. Aria was Artistic Director of Opera 5 from 2012-17. Recent and upcoming engagements include Acis and Galatea with Philharmonia Baroque at Caramoor and Tanglewood (COVID19), a workshop of Vastation (Moussa) with Calgary Opera and two productions of Madama Butterfly with the Canadian Opera Company, and Hawaii Opera Theatre.

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