Marigrace Maley

Opera Review
The Opera Lincoronazione Di Poppea by Monteverdi is portrayed very differently in the
production that is considered traditional than the production that is considered to be regietheater.
The company that I viewed for the tradtional version of the opera was De Nederlandse. The
company that I viewed for the Regietheater version of the opera was the Norwegian National
Opera. The main plot of this opera is the issue of the character Nerone falling in love with
Poppea due to his wife Ottavia being infertile. This caused Nerone to push his wife aside and
eventually find love with Poppea.
While both versions of this opera follow the same story, many differences still do occur
within both productions. A few examples that differentiate from both versions are casting
choice, costume design, and message behind what is going on in the plot. In the De Nederlandse
version of the opera, the scene that I viewed between Poppea and Nerone singing about their
complicated love is sung between two women. The part of Nerone, who is a male character is
played by a female, in order to preserve the voice part that was originally written. In the
Norwegian National Opera version, I viewed the same scene and the characters of Nerone, who
is now named Nero and Poppea are played by a male and female. The male is a counter tenor, so
the voice part is still preserved, but the character is just seen as more realistic in this day and age.
In the traditional version, the characters of Nerone and Poppea are in costumes that are very
fitting for the time that the opera takes place in. The costumes are very modest and cover most
of their bodies. In the regietheater version, these same characters are in costumes that are very
modernized. Poppea is portrayed in what she wears as if she is a sexual figure, while Nerone is

in a suit. It is also made clear that Poppeas articles of clothing are all over the place. A huge
topic that is brought about in regitheater is sexuality. While in the traditional version, Ottavia is
very heart broken about Nerone just tossing her away, it is not taken to the same level that is in
the regitheater version. The regitheater version literally shows the suggestion of chopping
Nerones penis off. This is portrayed by a cucumber.
Opera nowadays, is a topic that can be a sore subject for some people. Opera is seen as
something that is dying. The mission of regitheater is to make opera more relatable to this day in
age. Sometimes this can be taken too far. A lot of regitheater is made to appeal to the modern
times by making sexual innuendoes which can be very overwhelming at times. In traditional
theater, simple is enough. I enjoy the authenticity of traditional. There is no necessity to make
certain characters be sexualized or sexually ripped apart. With this being said, I also feel that
regitheater can be positive. Regitheater drives across the point of what is going on in a way that
modern audiences can understand. It also can bring some humor into the plot. Regitheater
draws the modern world into opera our generation has been shying away from traditional opera.
Regitheater may be the answer to the classical world making a huge comeback.