Garrett Kheshtinejad 005055364 Opera Review December 2nd, 2013

While many practitioners of Regietheater are often chastised for their modern interpretations of classic operas, it is a rather interesting topic for debate. An example of Regietheater is displayed by the Norwegian National Operas production of Lincoronazione de Poppea by Monteverdi. The DVD of the performance was released in 2010 and conducted by Alessandro de Marchi. Other artists featured in this production include Birgitte Christenson (Poppea) and Jacek Laszckowski(Nero). This story focuses on the love affair between Poppea, a lady seeking to become empress and Nero, the Emperor of Rome who is married to Ottavia. Regietheater places an emphasis on sexuality and violence. For someone who would not have given much personal input into a work before the nineteenth century, many Regietheater directors modernize very traditional operas; moreover use this emphasis on sex to attract a wider audience. You see this emphasis in the color red throughout the Norwegian Operas production. It is the only color displayed in the black and white in order to bring out the more violent and sexual moments to those watching. With a more traditional art form such as opera, one can argue that this modern approach is destroying the original work. Furthermore, an interpretation like this version of LIncornazione de Poppea takes away from what

the original librettist and composer would have wanted. In a sense, Regietheater challenges the definition of opera. Opera is an art that has been performed for hundreds of years. Putting a modern spin on a work could potentially reach out to a wider audience but you are demoralizing an art form to make a character or scene that traditionally would seem bland or boring into something erotic or violent. The modernization also alters the meaning of the original work. For example Poppeas character in this performance is made out to be a sexually dominant figure. She initiates many of the sexual acts within the three acts and this alters how the original character would have been depicted. Another example of alteration and a sort of engagement with popular culture occurs in the opening scene of the prologue. Virtue, Fortune, and Cupid argue over who has more influence on man. Virtue is wrapped in her expensive fur coat while Fortune is displayed as someone more comedic than serious. Then you have Cupid wearing pajamas and holding a teddy bear. The costumes and personalities of each character add a comic relief to something that would have most likely been more serious in a traditional production. I believe this was a worthwhile production, but I am not in agreement with how the director interpreted it. I am not an active viewer of many opera productions but this approach to opera automatically changes a new viewers perspective about a more traditional art form meant for a higher audience. Audiences in the twenty first century are highly interested in these types of Regietheater productions and I can relate with the topic of sex being something that sells. The younger audience is not as bored with the costumes, staging, or plot that

would be more inactive and less dramatic in a traditional performance. This was an opera that caught my attention as something that was rather witty, intense, and interesting but I would not consider this to be opera. The sexual nature of this production was rather uncomfortable to watch and something an audience seems to respond to indifferently. This emphasis on sex denounces what a composer would have envisioned which is something that cannot go unnoticed. Monteverdis L incoronazione de Poppea presented by the Norwegian National Opera puts opera into a different perspective. The emphasis on sex and violence along with many comical moments throughout this production was exciting, but when you have to address the many issues of alteration it is something that can be rather difficult to formulate a set opinion on. Overall, I think this was an interesting production with many redeeming characteristics but also many skeptical ones as well.