Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea)
From the Schwetzinger Festspiele 1993
Cast: Patricia Schumann, Marianne Rorholm, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Jeffrey Gall, Harry Peeters, Curtis Ryam
Concerto Cologne
Running Time : 150 min
Menu Languages : PAL : GB, D, F, SP / NTSC: GB, J, F, SP
Languages : PAL: GB, D, F / NTSC: GB, J, F
Sound Format : PCM Stereo
Picture Format: 16:9
Region Code: 0
Sel.No. 100 108 PAL / 100 109 NTSC
In the history of opera, Claudio Monteverdi's work represents the first high point to fundamentally shape the genre: his opera Orfeo composed in 1607 is considered by many to be the first genuine opera ever written. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, when he was Kapellmeister to the Court of Mantua, Monteverdi was one of the greatest musicians of the time. In 1613 he was given the post of highest honor in the musical world of that time: Kapellmeister at San Marco Cathedral in Venice. The first opera houses were founded in Venice around 1640 and Monteverdi became a highly sought-after opera composer. One year before his death he wrote The Coronation of Poppaea, which was performed several times during the seventeenth century. The original version appears to have been destroyed in a fire at the theatre at which it was first performed in 1748. For the performance in Montpellier, the famous Baroque expert Rene Jacobs produced one of the recognized new versions of the opera. Jacobs, born in the Early Music stronghold of Ghent, sang as a choirboy and was encouraged by the Kujiken brothers, Alfred Deller and Gustav Leonhardt to train as a countertenor. Within a few years he had become one of the world's most sought-after performers in this area. Concerto Koln, the inventive, imaginative original-sound ensemble will be celebrating its fifteenth birthday in December. This autonomously organized orchestra has been one of the top ensembles in Baroque and Pre-Classical music for a number of years.