Monteverdi: L'Orfeo / L'incoronazione Di Poppea (2017)

Monteverdis seminal first opera LOrfeo, tells the dramatic story from Ovids Metamorphoses of the descent of Orfeo (Georg Nigl) into the underworld to recover his beloved wife Euridice (Roberta Invernizzi), seen here in a production for La Scala, based on a painting by Titian and directed by Robert Wilson. David Aldens visually sumptuous production of Lincoronazione di Poppea, with its suggestions of a giant game of chess, puts the operas potent blend of sex and politics in a context that sets ancient against modern just as the action juxtaposes scurrilous comedy and stark drama.