Zurich Opera House tickets 9 March 2025 - Agrippina | GoComGo.com

Agrippina

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 3
Sung in: Italian
Titles in: German,English
Cast
Performers
Countertenor: Jakub Józef Orlinski (Otho)
Mezzo-Soprano: Anna Bonitatibus (Agrippina)
Countertenor: Christophe Dumaux (Nero)
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Mezzo-Soprano: Lea Desandre (Poppaea)
Bass: Nahuel di Pierro (Claudius)
Orchestra: Orchestra La Scintilla
Creators
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Dramaturge: Ian Burton
Director: Jetske Mijnssen
Librettist: Vincenzo Grimani
Overview

This new production at the Opernhaus Zürich brings together a superb Handel ensemble.

"Laws bow before the desire to rule", Agrippina exhorts her son Nerone. Following the news of the alleged death of her husband, Emperor Claudio, she wants to place her son on the throne, and she will use any means to make it happen. But Claudio is alive and has promised the imperial crown to Ottone, who rescued him. As the cards are reshuffled, a web of perfidious relationships and deceptive favor is spun. Poppea, coveted by Nerone, Claudio and Ottone in equal measure, becomes Agrippina's dangerous adversary.

The opera’s plot is pure fiction, but the characters are historically authentic. The libretto is attributed to Vincenzo Grimani, who, as Viceroy of Naples and ambassador to the Vatican, was well acquainted with the political intrigues and scandals of his time. His family owned the Venetian theater where Agrippina premiered at the opening of the carnival season in 1709. The 24-year-old Handel celebrated his first resounding success with Agrippina. Venetian audiences enjoyed the political parable because they recognized its allusions to contemporary issues. But the sinister cocktail of sex, crime and politics involving the mighty of this world is timeless, as are the psychologically complex characters Handel created.

Italian mezzo-soprano Anna Bonitatibus returns to the Opernhaus Zürich as Agrippina. Audiences can look forward to Lea Desandre, who last enchanted Zurich audiences as Cherubino, in the role of Poppea. Jakub Józef Orliński (Ottone) and Christophe Dumaux (Nerone) are two of today’s most sought-after countertenors, while Nahuel Di Pierro, who bows as Claudio, is another welcome guest. British Baroque specialist Harry Bicket will conduct our Orchestra La Scintilla for the first time. The production of Handel's biting satire is led by Jetske Mijnssen, who recently enjoyed success in Zurich with Rameau’s Platée and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

History
Premiere of this production: 26 December 1709, Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo

Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions. Some analysts believe that it reflects Grimani's political and diplomatic rivalry with Pope Clement XI.

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Location   Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 3
Sung in: Italian
Titles in: German,English
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