L'incoronazione di Poppea (1984) (TV) is a BBC opera directed by Peter Hall and Robin Lough. It was composed by Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi was a key figure in the transition between Renaissance music and Baroque music. Opera became an important art form during his lifetime, partially because he was a master at setting music that would support the words of the text.
Between his first opera, Orfeo in 1607, and Poppea in 1643, Monteverdi himself progressed to opera that was not just plays spoken with music, but plays that contained beautiful arias. Arias abound in Poppea.
Monteverdi was born in 1567, so 2017 is the 450th anniversary of his birth. Many companies around the world are performing Monteverdi this year, so you can probably find a live performance somewhere in your area. If not, this film will be a good substitute.
Sir Peter Hall was probably the most prominent English stage director of the 20th Century. Usually, his name was preceded by the adjective "controversial." He certainly took artistic risks. However, I don't think his staging of Poppea was outside the norm. The brilliant soprano Maria Ewing sings the title role. (She was married to Hall at the time.)
Ewing is not only famous for her voice, but also for her beauty and lack of inhibitions. Ewing's beauty was legendary. By 1984, there was no lack of beautiful opera singers. However, no one else could compare to Ewing's exotic beauty. The display of her charms was relatively modest in this opera. (Check out her performance of the Dance of the Seven Veils from the opera Salome on YouTube.)
This is a wonderful movie with a large, impressive cast, beautiful sets, and great production values. We are going to see the opera live in a few days in a student production at Rochester's Eastman School of Music. It won't be Glyndebourne, where this film was produced. However, ESM is one of the best music schools in the world. For all we know, the next Maria Ewing will be performing there.
