We left at the interval...

Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville, Thursday February 13 2020 Conductor: Enrico Onofri. Production: Mariame Clément with Marcos Darbyshire. Sets and costumes: Julia Hansen. Lighting: Bernd Purkrabek. Videos: fettFim. Claudio: Matthew Brook. Agrippina: Ann Hallenberg. Nerone: Renata Pokupic. Poppea: Alicia Amo. Ottone: Xavier Sabata. Pallante: Joao Fernandes. Narciso: Antonio Giovannini. Lesbo: Valeriano Lanchas. Giunone: Serena Perez. Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla. I already saw Mariame Clément's production of Agrippina , revived in Seville by Marcos Darbyshire, in Ghent in 2012 , so I don't need to describe it in detail again here. It seemed to me somehow fresher-looking in Seville and I wondered if the sets had been rebuilt or repainted since, but apparently not. Maybe, someone close to the production suggested, it just looked better on the more spacious stage. I also found I'd forgotten how full it was, from beginning to end, of well-timed comic detail - useful, as ...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Wednesday May 15 2013 In concert Conductor: Eduardo López Banzo. Agrippina: Ann Hallenberg. Nerone: Vivica Genaux. Poppea: María Espada. Ottone: Carlos Mena. Claudio: Luigi De Donato. Pallante: Enrique Sánchez Ramos. Lesbo: Elías Benito. Narciso: José Hernández Pastor. Al Ayre Español. It may sound unlikely, but the little corner of the baroque music world I have access to via Facebook has been hooked, over the past few days, on the Eurovision semi-finals. This includes at least one (who admitted to watching in pyjamas in bed – probably with a beer in one hand and a bag of crisps in the other), maybe more and possibly all of those singing in Agrippina at the Champs Elysées on Wednesday. So… … here are We Left At The Interval 's votes for the Agrippina Song Contest. Händel Twelve points go to Ann Hallenberg and Vivica Genaux - Anne Hallenberg et Vivica Genaux: douze points . Just as, not so long ago, if you saw Béatrice Uria...

Vlaamse Opera, Ghent, Sunday November 4 2012 Conductor: Paul McCreesh. Production: Mariame Clément. Sets: Julia Hansen. Costumes: Julia Hansen. Lighting: Bernd Purkrabek. Video: fettFilm. Agrippina: Ann Hallenberg. Nerone: José Maria Lo Monaco. Poppea: Elena Tsallagova. Ottone: Kristina Hammarström. Claudio: Umberto Chiummo: Pallante: João Fernandes. Narciso: José Lemos. Lesbo: Gevorg Grigoryan. Giunone: Marija Jokovic. Vlaamse Opera Orchestra. As I sheltered in a museum café from the cold and rain that made visiting Ghent this weekend more difficult than it should have been, the lady having soup at the next table explained that she no longer went to the opera there because instead of putting on shows people want to see, they force-feed them modern productions. Would she really not have enjoyed this ingenious, effective approach to Agrippina ? It was a bright, colourful, “dinky” staging (“So smart!” someone exclaimed to me, like one of Evelyn Waugh’s Bright Young People, befo...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Tuesday September 23 2003 Conductor: Réne Jacobs. Production: David McVicar. Agrippina: Anna Caterina Antonacci. Nerone: Malena Ernman. Poppea: Miah Persson. Claudio: Lorenzo Regazzo. Ottone: Lawrence Zazzo. Pallante: Antonio Abete. Narciso: Dominique Visse. Lesbo: Lynton Black. Concerto Köln. Just one week after William Christie's voiceless wonders, René Jacobs showed that baroque opera really doesn't have to be like that. David McVicar's production of Ag rippina , shared with Brussels, is on its second outing in Paris. It is, in my opinion, a great modern Händel production, a model of how Händelian opera can be made to work, and work well, as theatre today. Händel The potential for staging this tale of political scheming, corruption and power play like Dynasty is there in the libretto, snide asides and all. Agrippina is the Joan Collins of the show, a tall, dark, glamorous, sexy, rich bitch in little black dress and five-inch heels, a g...