- Monteverdi was a major figure in the development of early opera. L’incoronazione di Poppea (first presented during the 1642-3 Carnival season in Venice) is his last opera, often considered his masterpiece.1
- Story: the opera follows the plottings of Poppea, mistress of Emperor Nero, as she seeks to depose and replace Empress Octavia.2
- L’incoronazione di Poppea is unusual for its time in that there is no triumph of morality.3
- “Pur ti miro” (“I Gaze at You”) is a duet between Nero and Poppea, and it is the opera’s final number. Nero’s wife has been deposed, Poppea has been crowned empress, and the two lovers celebrate their dubious triumph in this erotic duet.4
- Fun fact: Some scholarship suggests that this duet is not by Monteverdi, but is an addition to the opera with words and music by Benedetto Ferrari.
Sources
- Tim Carter and Geoffrey Chew, “Monteverdi [Monteverde], Claudio,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000044352.
- Ellen Rosand, “Incoronazione di Poppea, L’,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000902316.
- Carter and Chew, “Monteverdi [Monteverde], Claudio,” Grove Music Online.
- Rosand, “Incoronazione di Poppea, L’,” Grove Music Online.
Cut IDs
45563