Unrequited love, adultery, suicide, attempted assassination, class conflict--all rolled into one riveting operatic tour de force. Claudio Monteverdi’s final operatic masterpiece L’incoronazione di Poppea is one of the towering monuments of western music, and Haymarket’s outstanding cast will bring the sublime music and Busenello's eloquent libretto to life in this visually rich production. Countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim returns to his native Chicago to reprise his heartfelt, vulnerable, nuanced, and pathological Nero after a widely praised world tour in the role under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Cherished ensemble members returning to the Haymarket stage include Erica Schuller in the title role, Kimberly McCord as Empress Octavia, and David Govertsen as the ancient philosopher Seneca.

With this production, Haymarket offers a rare opportunity to hear the original Venetian-style chamber orchestration--two violins, bass violin, keyboard and theorbo. This spare, nimble pit band of top period instrumentalists will put drama and emotion center stage. Poppea also marks Haymarket’s first fully-staged production at DePaul University's intimate Jarvis Hall, a brand new, state-of-the-art, purpose-designed opera theater.

Packed with unforgettable arias and ensembles, harrowing drama, and flawed human characters, Poppea was largely unperformed between its 1642 debut and the Monteverdi revival which caught fire in the late 20th-century. Master poet Giovanni Francesco Busenello's text relates the scandalous story of Rome's volatile first-century tyrant Nero who banishes his wife Octavia in order to install his concubine Poppea as Empress.

Jarvis Opera Hall2330 N Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60014