Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 24, 2012

2012 has turned out to be quite the year for L’Incoronazione di Poppea, a troubling piece of operatic grandiosity by Claudio Monteverdi, still strangely one of the unsung early heroes of the form which would come to define the Italian musical soul for centuries after this piece premiered in the 1640s. Monteverdi: Coronation of Poppea was a really interesting release, at least from an intellectual standpoint, which offered some striking visuals dressing up a somewhat problematic conceit that made this mythic piece supposedly more contemporary and, one supposes, more accessible to modern day audiences. This 2009 Liceu Opera Barcelona production (which was originally staged in Cardiff in the late nineties) casts the ancient piece once again in a seemingly more contemporary milieu, but this time, director David Alden seems to capture more of the timeless element that was perhaps slightly lacking in the previously released Norwegian Blu-ray.

The production is fairly minimal but is anchored by commanding performances by Miah Persson as Poppea and Sarah Connolly as Nero. There are some unusual and frankly kind of funny conceits, including a Fortuna (Marisa Martins) who looks like she’s wandered in from a nearby bus and truck touring company of The Coneheads. Harry Bicket conducts with appealing reserve, but with just the right amount of passion to highlight this opera which is all about the ferocity of obsessive love.

Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

L'Incoronazione Di Poppea is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Opus Arte with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is one of the more curiously soft looking high definition presentations from Opus Arte, with a sort of fuzzy looking image in midrange and especially wide shots. Close-ups pop a good deal better, at least relatively, but this is not a presentation that really offers stupendously popping visuals. Part of this may be due to the weird purple stage lighting that kind of bathes everything in a milky ambience and robs the image of significant fine detail.

Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

L'Incoronazione Di Poppea features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix as well as an LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. Both of these tracks sound magnificent, ably supporting Persson's lovely lyricism and Connolly's more brusquely athletic approach. The continuo here is especially well reproduced, with a beautiful crispness but also with a charming fluidity. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range is considerable, at least given the rather restrained dynamic language of early Italian opera.

Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cast Gallery (1080i; 1:49)


• Illustrated Synopsis (1080i; 6:39)

Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Both Poppeas currently out on Blu-ray have their own pleasures, but this one is probably the better bet of the two, for the dynamic combo of Miah Persson and Sarah Connolly if for no other reason. Minimally staged, but dramatically sung and suffused with some nicely done comedic bits, this manages to evoke both its ancient subject, its proper historical context, as well as a bracing modern edge. Recommended.