Agrippina, HWV 6

Composer: Handel, George Frideric

Librettist/Text Author: Grimani, Vincenzo

Conductor: Malgoire, Jean-Claude

Orchestra: Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, La

Agrippina: Gens, Veronique

Claudio: Smith, Nigel

Lesbo: Buet, Alain

Narciso: Falco, Fabrice di

Nerone: Jaroussky, Philippe

Ottone: Gregoire, Thierry

Pallante: Deletre, Bernard

Poppea: Perruche, Ingrid

Set Designer: Clolus, Emmanuel

Costume Designer: Karpinsky, Olga

Lighting Designer: Levy, Daniel

Stage Director: Fisbach, Frederic

Television Director: Mancini, Tiziano

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Date of Production: 2003

Venue: Municipal Theatre, Tourcoing

Playing Time: 02:52:00

Catalogue Number: 33431

Synopsis

Agrippina, HWV 6

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Agrippina was staged for the first time in late December 1709 - or possibly at the beginning of 1710 - at Venice's Teatro San Grisostomo and met with enormous success, as testified by twenty-seven following performances, a record number even for 18th-century standards. Agrippina's triumph sanctioned Handel's definitive investiture as an operatic composer. After nearly 300 years this opera appears as a masterpiece of 18th-century music and an innovative work, considering that when Handel composed it he was just twenty-four years old. The composer's melodic creativity and sense of theatre are quite remarkable. The cast, conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire, includes Véronique Gens in the title role.