L'Incoronazione di Poppea

by Claudio Monteverdi

Ah, the pleasures of the flesh! The self indulgent Emperor Nero's grown tired of his wife and taken a mistress. But that ravishing and ruthless paramour Poppea will stop at nothing to snatch the crown for herself. How many will die or disappear before the final coronation scene?

It's hard to believe this timeless work with such enchanting love songs, heart-rending laments, and lilting dances dates back nearly a half-millennium. Composed by Claudio Monteverdi - who could justifiably be called the godfather of opera - The Coronation of Poppea sounds as fresh and accessible to today's audiences as when it was penned in 1642.