The Coronation of Poppea

Lyric Opera have provided me with many delightful evenings at the theatre, but never with as much vocal talent as was on display in this performance. Just to hear bass Damian Whiteley was worth the price of admission. He has been mainly singing overseas, and one can only hope he has settled back in Australia so that we can hear more of his clean, strong voice.

Also worth the price of admission was tenor Nicholas Jones as Nero. Singing with admirable restraint, as befits an emperor with ultimate power, he found no difficulty with the coloratura and sang superbly. He was well matched by Rebecca Rashleigh as a gorgeous and sexy Poppea. There was real chemistry between these two.

Counter tenor Nicholas Tolputt sang beautifully as the overturned lover, Ottone, while Elizabeth Stannard-Cohen was a powerful Drusilla. Caroline Vercoe and Alison Lemoh did well as Ottavio and Amor, while Robert Macfarlane was a strong Fortune.

It was pointed out at the start that this was the seventh opera ever written, so I thought they did an amazing job putting it together. The written music was only a skeleton of what they played and Pat Miller had to decide what instruments to employ and what notes they should play, a mammoth task. He included a piano and harpsicord, cello, guitar, flute and violin, as well as a theorbo, a type of lute. The small ensemble did an amazing job.

The simple set comprised a bed with doors, which could be folded back. This was very effective. The modern costumes worked well and have the gods, Fortune and Virtue, in drag was a novel approach. This performance was one of the highlights of the opera season.

Graham Ford

Photographer: Sarah Walker