This page is a non-commercial research entry within the Operatic LGBTQIA+ Catalogue. It does not claim authorship, ownership, or rights over the works discussed.
All rights remain with the respective authors, composers, librettists, publishers, companies, performers, and rights holders.
For performance, purchase, licensing, recordings, or rights-related requests, please contact the official rights holders.
Entries can be corrected, updated, expanded, or removed upon request.
L'incoronazione di Poppea (SV 308, The Coronation of Poppaea)
165'
Italian
Synopsis
The Roman Emperor Nerone has abandoned his wife, Ottavia, for the ambitious and seductive Poppea. The spurned empress forces Poppea's former lover, Ottone, to try to kill her. Ottone's plot fails, but he implicates the noblewoman Drusilla, who is exiled. Ottavia is also sent away. With the philosopher Seneca, a voice of reason and restraint, dead by his own hand, Nerone is free to crown Poppea empress.
Composer
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Lyricist / Librettist / Playwright
Giovanni Francesco Busenello (1598-1659)
Year of composition/publication / premiere
1643
Genre
Opera
LGBTQAI+ category
Bisexual, Queer
Level of centrality
Main character
Characters
Nerone, Lucano
Voice type
Contra-tenor, Soprano, Tenor
Pronouns
he/him
Publisher / Rights holder
The work is in the public domain. Modern performing editions are available from publishers like Boosey & Hawkes and Wise Music Classical, which hold rights to specific editions (e.g., the Alan Curtis edition).
Where to buy / access the work
Vocal scores and performance materials for modern editions can be purchased or rented from publishers like Boosey & Hawkes and Wise Music Classical. Public domain scores are available for free on IMSLP.
Performance rights
For performance rights, please contact the composer and/or publisher to ensure legal compliance.
Official website
Audio recording(s)
Video performance(s)
Keywords
* "Love and Infamy: The Paradox of Monteverdi's L'Icoronazione di Poppea" by Edward B. Savage (Comparative Drama, 1970).
* "Tacitus Incognito: Opera as History in L’incoronazione di Poppea" by Wendy Heller (Taylor & Francis, 2017). https://www.researchwithnj.com/en/publications/tacitus-incognito-opera-as-history-in-lincoronazione-di-poppea-2/