L’incoronazione di Poppea

Opera in prologue and three acts by Claudio Monteverdi

September 22-25, 2022 | Jarvis Opera Hall

Haymarket’s Long-Awaited Production of a Monteverdi Masterpiece

A superb cast led by Erica Schuller (Poppea) and Lindsay Metzger (Nerone) includes beloved Haymarket performers Kimberly McCord (Ottavia), David Govertsen (Seneca) and Kristin Knuston (Drusilla and Fortuna). In their company debuts, Haymarket welcomes Michael Skarke (Ottone), Elijah McCormack (Valleto and Amore), and Sofia Troncoso (Virtù, Damigella, and Pallade), alongside Justin Berkowitz (Arnalta, Nutrice, and Famigliaro I), Ryan Townsend Strand (Primo soldato, Liberto, Console), Jianghai Ho (Lucano, Secondo soldato, and Famigliaro II), and Dorian McCall (Famigliaro III, Littore, and Tribuno), with a cameo performance from Haymarket general director, tenor Chase Hopkins (Mercurio).

Craig Trompeter leads a chamber ensemble of period instrumentalists including Jason Moy (harpsichord and organo di legno), Brandon Acker (theorbo and guitar), Jeri-Lou Zike and Martin Davids (violins), and Anna Steinhoff (bass violin).

Haymarket’s new production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea is led by creative producer Chase Hopkins, stage director Sarah Edgar, and music director Craig Trompeter. Costume designer Stephanie Cluggish, set designer Wendy Waszut-Barrett, lighting designer Brian Schneider, and wig and makeup designer Megan Pirtle return to Haymarket to create ancient Rome as seen through the eyes of 17th-century Venice. 

Cast

Soprano Erica Schuller takes on the title role of the ambitious courtesan Poppea. With the help of the gods Amore and Fortuna, nothing –and no one– can stand in the way of Poppea stealing the heart of Emperor Nero and ascending to the throne of Rome. Since joining Haymarket in 2013 with her raucous debut in Telemann’s Pimpinone, Erica Schuller has performed in nine different productions with the company, including L’Amant anonyme (2022), Orlando (2021), Apollo e Dafne (2021), Serse (2018), Ariane et Bacchus (2017), and Amadigi di Gaula (2015).

Lindsay Metzger returns to Haymarket to perform one of the most complex roles in all of operatic literature– the despotic Roman Emperor Nerone. This 1st-century A. D. emperor was notorious for debauchery, political and family murder, and is most famous for his fiddling while Rome burned. Monteverdi and his librettist Busenello use poetry and music to bring this historical figure to life in one of  the most famous operas of the 17th century. Lindsay Metzger takes on this formidable dramatic challenge following her comedic portrayal of the bawdy Mauxalinda in Haymarket’s 2019 production of Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley. 

L’incoronazione di Poppea welcomes back soprano Kimberly McCord as Ottavia, soprano Kristin Knutson as Drsuilla and Fortuna, and bass-baritone David Govertsen as Seneca, all portraying prominent Romans and casualties of Nero’s plan to unseat his wife Ottavia and crown Poppea as Empress of Rome. 

Kimberly McCord has provided many memorable moments in previous Haymarket productions including a triumphant entrance as Juno on a peacock-drawn carriage in La Calisto (2016), The Dragon of Wantley (2019) and Dido and Aeneas (2013). David Govertsen is well known to Chicago audiences for his performances at Haymarket in L’Amant anonyme (2022), Orlando (2021), Acis and Galatea (2020), and more. Kristin Knutson appeared as the fiery prophet Daniele in Susanna (2022) and in the title role of Haymarket’s modern-day premiere of Marais’s Ariane et Bacchus (2017). 

Haymarket is proud to present countertenor Michael Skarke as Ottone and soprano Elijah McCormack as Amore, both of whom will make their company debuts following participation in Haymarket’s Summer Opera Course. 

Busenello populates his libretto with a host of gods, goddesses, soldiers, poets, students, messengers, Roman officials, and nursemaids. Soprano Sofia Troncoso (Haymarket debut), tenors Justin Berkowitz, Ryan Townsend Strand, and Jianghai Ho, and bass-baritone Dorian McCall perform 15 characters trapped in Nero’s reign of terror, just as players in a 17th-century theater would have done.

Haymarket’s general director, tenor Chase Hopkins,  makes his onstage company debut as the Roman god Mercury offering Haymarket audiences a chance to hear this rarely performed scene which is often omitted from productions of Poppea.

Production Team

From the team that produced Haymarket’s acclaimed 2022 production of Bologne’s L’Amant anonyme, comes a period production of the ultimate musico-dramatic challenge of the 17th century, Monteverdi’s operatic masterpiece, L’incoronazione di Poppea. This production centers around a first-century Roman Emperor’s reign of terror framed by the musical and dramatic conventions of a 17th-century opera, brought to life in a period production for Haymarket’s 21st-century audiences.

Meghan Pirtle | Wig & Make-up Designer

Mike Sportiello | Technical Director (DePaul University)

Rick Combs | Production & Stage Manager

Orchestra

Craig Trompeter leads a chamber ensemble of period instrumentalists including Jason Moy (harpsichord and organo di legno), Brandon Acker (theorbo and guitar), Jeri-Lou Zike and Martin Davids (violins), and Anna Steinhoff (bass violin).

For this production Haymarket’s players recreate the sound world of 17th-century Venice, using historical instruments including two replicas of early Italian harpsichords; a large plucked lute, the chitarrone; and the rarely-heard bass violin, one of the largest members of the violin family and precursor of the cello. Haymarket’s instrumentalists use techniques and aesthetics drawn from iconographic evidence and written treatises of the day.

Craig Trompeter | Harpsichord

Jason Moy | Harpsichord & Organ di degno

Brandon Acker | Theorbo & guitar

Jeri-Lou Zike | Violin I

Marty Davids | Violin II

Anna Steinhoff | Bass Violin

Synopsis: L’incoronazione di Poppea

Synopsis: In a heated prologue, Fortune and Virtue argue over who holds greater sway in the human realm. Amore, the god of love, silences the bickering goddesses, pronouncing himself the true master of mortal fates and promising to prove his powers that very day. Ottone, the erstwhile lover of Poppea, waits outside her palace, hoping to rekindle their romance. But Poppea has left him for none other than the Emperor Nerone who plans to invalidate his own marriage to the Empress Ottavia and place Poppea on the throne. When the philosopher Seneca opposes this plan, Poppea urges Nerone to put him to death. Ottone half-heartedly seeks comfort in the arms of Drusilla, one of Poppea’s ladies in waiting. After Seneca’s death by forced suicide has been accomplished, Nerone and Poppea rejoice. In a desperate attempt to secure her place as Empress, Ottavia coerces Ottone to kill Poppea. He disguises himself in Drusilla’s garments and enters Poppea’s garden where she has been lulled to sleep by her nurse Arnalta. Amore foils the murder and Ottone flees. The three conspirators are found out and banished. With all obstacles removed, Nerone crowns Poppea as Empress of Rome.

And just for fun…

Preface to Busenello’s libretto, L’incoronazione di Poppea:

“Nerone, in love with Poppea, sends her husband Ottone as ambassador to Lusitania so that he could enjoy his illicit love — according to Cornelius Tacitus. But here the facts are presented differently. Ottone, upset when he sees that he has lost Poppea, becomes frenzied and gives way to expressions of despair. Ottavia, Nerone’s wife, commands Ottone to kill Poppea. Ottone promises to do so, but, lacking the heart to take the life of his adored Poppea, he disguises himself in the dress of Drusilla, who is in love with him. Thus disguised, he enters Poppea’s garden. Amore intervenes and prevents the murder. Nerone repudiates Ottavia, ignoring the advice of Seneca, and marries Poppea. Seneca dies and Ottavia is sent into exile from Rome.”

About the Composer:

Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi was already a published composer by the age of fifteen, writing beautiful madrigals in the current styles of 1580s Italy. He would go on to become one of the most important innovators in the history of music, writing trail-blazing works for the theater and the church. He began his long career as a singer and instrumentalist (theorbo and bowed strings) at the Mantuan court of the powerful and wealthy Gonzaga family. His L’Orfeo, written for the 1607 carnival celebrations at the Mantuan court, is the earliest opera to hold a place in the modern canon. Overworked and underappreciated in Mantua, he eventually took the esteemed post of maestro di cappella at San Marco in Venice. While he enjoyed great professional success, he was no stranger to the hardships of his time. His beloved wife Claudia died suddenly after the premiere of L’Orfeo and his son Massimiliano was briefly imprisoned by the Inquisition for reading banned books. Monteverdi dabbled in alchemy and was also an ordained priest, taking the holy orders just after a plague outbreak had sent more than 50,000 Venetians to early graves in 1630. Like Giuseppe Verdi at the end of the 19th century, he was well into his seventies when he penned his final two operatic masterpieces, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea, widely considered to be among the greatest works in the genre.

Production Sponsors & Support

Lead Sponsors: Amata Suites, Jamerson & Bauwens Electric, Greg O’Leary and Patricia Kenney, Lynne and Ralph Schatz

Supporting Sponsors:  M. Scott Anderson, Debra Cox, Axel Kunzmann and Bruce J. Nelson, David Rice, Marjorie Stinespring, Suzanne L. Wagner, Pam and Doug Walter, and Michael and Jessica Young

Foundational support comes from: The Paul M. Angell Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, Helen and Curtis Pinnell Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Walder Foundation.

We are grateful for the support of these sponsors alongside the support that has come from Haymarket’s wonderful community of donors. Your gifts, and contributions have helped make this performance possible. Thank you!

If you are interested to become a production sponsor, please contact general director Chase Hopkins, at chase@haymarketopera.org.

This event is for everyone! If you require access service to fully participate or have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@haymarketopera.org. To ensure the best experience, please try to contact us at your earliest convenience.