Agrippina
George Frideric Handel
One of Handel’s finest librettos for a sublime duo of women torn between passion and power.
Dates
Magdalena Kožena | Agrippina
Julia Lezhneva | Poppea
Christophe Dumaux | Ottone
Adèle Charvet | Nerone
Nicolas Brooymans | Claudio
Adrien Fournaison | Pallante
Paul Figuier | Narciso
Les Accents
Thibault Noally | violin and direction
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Sung in Italian, with French/English subtitles
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Approx. running time : 3h
About
Agrippina is one of highpoints of Handel’s Italian output, written at the tender age of twenty-five. Shortly afterwards, he triumphed on the London stage with Rinaldo, which encouraged him to settle there for many years and to compose some of his greatest works. But already in Agrippina, he made his mark with the incredibly variety of his arias and the particular inflexions he gave to each character. Handel also showcased humour as his main male protagonists, Ottone, Nerone and Claudio are ultimately mere puppets in the formidable hands of Agrippina and Poppea. This forerunner of vaudeville offers three hours of pure orchestral and vocal joy.
Production Théâtre des Champs-Élysées