L'Incoronazione di Poppea : Alden, Bicket / Gran Teatre del Liceu, Persson, Connolly, Domenech, etc (2009 Stereo)

Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea
Recorded live at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, February 2009

Miah Persson (Poppea), Sarah Connolly (Nerone)
Jordi Domenech (Ottone), Franz-Josef Selig (Seneca)
Baroque Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Harry Bicket, conductor

David Alden (stage director)

Love conquers all - ruthlessly and irresistibly - as Emperor Nero and his mistress Poppea remove the obstacles to their union. At Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu David Alden's visually sumptuous production, with its suggestions of a giant game of chess, puts the opera's potent blend of sex and politics in a context that sets ancient against modern- just as the action juxtaposes scurrilous comedy and stark drama.

Monteverdi's magnificent score, meanwhile, accommodates intrigue, wit, nobility, tragedy and sensuality, and, led by the intense Sarah Connolly and the delectable Miah Persson, the cast brings both drama and music startlingly to life.

Run time: 183 min