I'm disappointed that what people are discussing is the switching parts and a tenor singing Nerone. Get over what you're used to and just listen and watch. Here's what the discussion should be about. This is HOT! Both of them are singing with passion and tenderness. Not to mention that Richard Croft has about the warmest and most expressive tenor voice I've ever heard. I've got chills. No other version of this duet touches them. Bravo! Brava!
Maggie Wood The funny thing is that people get upset about a man singing the ' female' part that was written in a time when female roles were often sung by castrated men (and so we're many of the male ones,like Nero here) Seriously,this performance worked out beautifully ,so why complain? It's not like it's possible to make this completely authentic, anyway.
I came here after watching this clip played on a BBC programme. I have never watched opera before so not qualified to judge other than say it has raw emotion and sounds fantastic.
Wow, I’m surprised how much I like this version. Despite the octave plus difference in the voices, the dissonances are gorgeous! I’m also surprised considering that Poppea’s voice is more traditional operatic works with Nero’s clear lyric tenor. Very nice!
Richard Croft has a beautiful lyrical voice. I saw this opera in Dublin in the beautiful setting of the Municipal Gallery. The part of Nero was played by a tenor and at first I thought no : only a counter tenor would suffice. But now I am converted. This is the best version of this beautiful aria on the Tube: hauntingly tragic and full of emotional power.
Why you want countertenors singing the castrato parts? Did you know males singing in falsetto where common during that period, but not for opera? Im sure maestri Handel or Monteverdi would prefer the voice of a woman than a male falsettist.
If Nerone is sung by a tenor, it makes sense to switch the parts for this duet. By doing so, the tenor stays in his mid-upper range and the soprano stays in her mid-lower range thus keeping their voices within an octave of each other. It may seem like a trivial detail to some but, this helps with intonation, vocal projection and, with the vocal lines closer together, it mirrors what is happening in the story. The lyrics and music of either Poppea or Nerone don't favor one voice type or gender, therefore, I think it was wise choice for the maestro to flip the parts as it shows an understanding of the music and preserves the significance of this moment.
I admire the direction and interpretation of this performance. Stereotypically it is the male that wears a crown. In a relationship, neither wears a crown.
POPPEA and NERONE I gaze at you I tighten closer to you I delight in you I am bound to you I no longer suffer I no longer die Oh my life, Oh my treasure. I am yours You are mine My hope, say it, say, My dear, Yes, my love, You are mine, tell me so My dear, Yes, my love, Yes, my heart, my life, yes. I gaze at you I tighten closer to you I delight in you I am bound to you I no longer suffer I no longer die Oh my life, Oh my treasure.
Love this! Both excellent and also Nero as a tenor. But best ever version for me features Rachel Yakar and Eric Tappy. Totally dramatic, since her sensuality is shared between Nero and the crown.
It was rather common to have a tenor Nero before the early-music movement took place. There are clips here of Jon Vickers and Gwyneth Jones, famed Wagnerians, singing this duet. And they both scale down their voices for a heavenly rendition. Also, more recent scholarship posits that Monteverdi might have written this duet after all.
@dfgrbtr Yes, the whole of Act 3 Scene 8 was evidently written by a person or persons other than Monteverdi. Sacrati appears to have written some of it. The text of "Pur ti miro" seems to have been the work of the lute player Benedetto Ferrari, who is consequently thought the likely composer. The arguments are laid out in Alan Curtis's edition of Poppea.
Lovely! I know Patricia Schumann well, Richard Croft less so, a lack i shall correct, having heard this. It is interesting to think of two things: that this is thought by some to be a duo representing the sexual act & that Nero would kick the pregnant Poppea to death a few months later (nine?). Yet, it sounds to me like a duet espousing/expressing love of the noblest order, even if highly sensual. René Jacobs is less fussy & a bit less quirky & fun perhaps than William Christie (whom i also interviewed w great pleasure to us both, malgré lui), but v. professional to the period. Many thanks!
My understanding is that there is some debate about how Poppea died - the source of the information that Nero kicked her death is a rival and is quite possibly local political slander. I've read historians think she might have died in an accident or even in childbirth. I like remembering that when listening to this duet. :)
I honestly don't think these singers have any sort of difficulty with any of the lines whatsoever. They are well stablished professional singers, this isn't a college production. If the director has chosen to do it this way, I'm sure it has more to do with the well-blending of the two voices together... Having Poppea's voice quite a rich, full quality to it, it's easy to imagine why she's singing the lowest line. It's OK to try new ways of performing this music, it's OK to be open, as they used to be in Monteverdi's times ;)
Dino Mahoney I adore the countertenor voice, but surely you can accept there is ‘magic’ to this and one performance doesn’t invalidate the other?! I wish people could just accept/cherish/enjoy/listen to sublime artistry (such as this clip) without feeling the need to make some sort of qualitative remark on favourite singers or voice types. Music isn’t just an expression of mathematically equatable ideals. At the risk of sounding trite: it is the very essence of beautiful human imperfection laid bravely and generously bare for ALL to celebrate.
If people are excerpting from Poppea for posting on RU-vid, I propose a moratorium on Pur ti miro. I'm sick of it. It's not even by Monteverdi (everyone on RU-vid attributes it to him). It's by Francesco Sacrati. Check a modern score of the opera.
