Acclaimed Monteverdi with John Eliot Gardiner

The last of Gardiner’s acclaimed Monteverdi Trilogy to be released by Opus Arte in 2022.

Claudio Monteverdi developed the principles of opera with L’Orfeo in the first decade of the 17th-century. At the very end of his life he wrote L’incoronazione di Poppea. The opera marked a decisive move from allegorical and mythic elements towards a historical subject – the love affair between the Roman Emperor Nero and his mistress Poppea. His final masterpiece, where the beauty of the arias vanquished the decadence of the storyline, was first performed in the year of his death. For decades John Eliot Gardiner has been at the forefront of Monteverdi performance and scholarship, and for the 450th anniversary of Monteverdi’s birth in 2017 he conducted all three of the composer’s surviving full-length operas. This semi-staged production, recorded in Venice’s historical Teatro La Fenice is part of that acclaimed cycle.

“Gardiner has assembled a touring ensemble of remarkable quality, with a standout performance here from Korean-American Kangmin Justin Kim… It’s a sound to die for…” (The Times ★★★★★)

“…magically coherent…” (The Guardian ★★★★★)

"A crowning glory, you might say, to Gardiner's half century association with Monteverdi" (The Times ★★★★★)

Genre Opera
Recording location Teatro La Fenice, Venice
Recording date June 2017
Co-Production Company Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras and Ozango; Centre national du cinema et l'image (CNC); France Televisions; Unitel; M_Media TV; Fondazione Teatro La Fenice
Producer Jean-Jacques Schaettel; Lise Lemeunier; Magdalena Herbst
Video format 16:9
Audio format LPCM 2.0 + DTS Digital Surround 5.1 (DVD) / LPCM 2.0 + DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (Blu-ray)
Duration 194 minutes
Distribution DVD Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Distribution VOD Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Director Sebastien Glas
Light Design Rick Fisher
Conductor John Eliot Gardiner