Feature: Theatre - The Coronation of Poppea at The King’s Head
Published: 31 March, 2011
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
Aria composed for his local pub
PROLIFIC minimalist composer Michael Nyman is adding his might to Monteverdi’s last and arguably greatest work, the 1651 opera The Coronation of Poppea.
Nyman, an Islington resident of long-standing, has written an aria to be sung in the OperaUpClose revival of the opera at the King’s Head, Upper Street, Islington, previewing on Tuesday and opening in repertory on April 12.
As a composer, he is mostly known mostly for his film music, notably the score for Jane Campion’s film The Piano. Over the years, though, he’s written numerous songs as well as seven operas.
The aria is sung by the apparition of Ottavia, the divorced wife of Nero, despatched into exile by the Roman Emperor so that he can marry his pregnant mistress, Poppea. It is sung after the crowning of Poppea as Empress and immediately before the passionate love duet “I gaze at you, I possess you”, sung by Nero and Poppea just before the opera ends.
The main purpose of Nyman’s aria is to let the King’s Head audience know that the adulterous Nero and Poppea get their come-uppance.
Poppea died, still bearing the unborn child, after Nero kicked her in the stomach. Nero committed suicide by driving a dagger into his throat.
His suicide was prompted by the revolt of troops in Germany amidst his widespread unpopularity due to cuts and tax hikes needed to meet the imperial deficit.
So Nyman has a wide spectrum of events and emotions to include in his aria. Fortunately, he’s very familiar with Monteverdi. “I discovered the Coronation of Poppea for the first time in a broadcast conducted by Raymond Leppard, probably back in the 1970s,” he says.
“I was struck then by the beauty of the opera’s final aria – that and his madrigals were a starting point for my own music.
“Though I would love to write a whole opera for a major opera house in the UK, I’m delighted to be composing an aria for my local pub.”
OperaUpClose is justly famed for its award-winning small-scale production of La Bohème which opened in Kilburn last year, transferring later to Soho.
But its Poppea at the King’s Head is going to be very different – not just a small-scale production, but virtually a re-write as well.
The revival is being directed by playwright and journalist Mark Ravenhill, another Islington resident, known for the plays Shopping and F**king, and Mother Clap’s Molly House.
Ravenhill has adapted the libretto to make Monteverdi’s opera more “in yer face” boiling the story-line down to one of love, lust, cross-dressing and murder.
Further, composer Alex Silverman has re-orchestrated Monteverdi’s music so that it can be played by a small jazz band involving soprano sax, piano and double bass.
At least, though, the actual Monteverdi song-lines are untouched and the King’s Head production is blessed by some cracking singers. Versatile soprano Zoe Bonner is Poppea and mezzo-soprano Jessica Walker, a noted cross-singer, is Nero.
Singing Nyman’s aria will be soprano Rebecca Caine and she’s just about as good as you can get, with a string of credits at top companies, including the ENO.
It will be interesting to see whether she’s able to help Nyman get that commission from one of the country’s major opera houses.
• The Coronation of Poppea opens on April 12 at The King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, N1, 020 7478 0160, www.kingsheadtheatre.com