AGRIPPINA

Acclaimed in Venice when first performed in 1709, Agrippina is now regarded as one of Handel’s earliest masterpieces and one of the high points of the Baroque era.

The plot is worthy of a vaudeville, brimming with humor and scheming characters, based on the brilliant libretto written by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. State lies, power struggles, romantic rivalries, assassination attempts, betrayals and blackmail: all the ingredients were there to thrill the Venetian audience, eager for scandal, as well as to spark the imagination of the young composer who was eager to give shape to his dreams of opera seria. Privy to all the intrigues surrounding Pope Clement XI, the Cardinal-librettist ferociously satirized behavior within the papal court, giving the composer the opportunity to craft stunning arias for each of his nine characters, including Emperor Claudio, his heir Ottone, his scandalous and ambitious wife Agrippina, as well as his son Nerone from a previous marriage, not to mention the great seductress Poppea…

Cloaked in the guise of a dynastic drama set in ancient Rome, this historical opera is above all a flamboyant work in which Handel’s fervor – expressed through vibrant arias and dramatic recitatives – succeeds in creating music and vocal performances matching the intensity of the passions portrayed on stage.

For this co-production with the Lausanne Bach Festival, Thibault Noally will – for the first time in French-speaking Switzerland – be conducting his “Les Accents” ensemble that he founded in 2014.