Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Agrippina

An over-directed, but vivid staging demonstrating political rise and fall in Ancient Rome transported to the present day.

The biting wit of Vincenzo Grimani's libretto is well served by some knockout arias and excellent performances from a strong cast and the matchless Il pomo d'oro.

A resounding success at its 1709 première, Handel’s Agrippina gripped the ear and dazzled the eye at the Grange Festival in a hugely entertaining and powerful performance.

Opera Vlaanderen revives a production of Handel's Agrippina based on American soap operas of the 1980s.

The early Handel opera Agrippina is given a rare and playful outing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with clear Italian singing, joyous Baroque playing and lively stage production.

Englishman Laurence Dale’s Göttingen Festival production of Handel’s Agrippina, now presented in the second Brisbane Baroque Festival, is based on the political void between appearance and reality. 

Bruno Ravella's version of Handel's Agrippina moves the action from Classical Rome to the avaricious Eighties in a sharp, amusing night at Iford.  

Agrippina was a force to be reckoned with: the granddaughter, sister, niece, wife and mother of four Roman Emperors (and lover, incestuously, of at least two). As Mary Beard points out in her brilliant programme introduction, “Agrippina was probably the best connected woman that the Roman world ever saw” – and one of the most ruthless.

One thing is for sure: whether you like Baroque opera or not, you will never be bored by an opera conducted by René Jacobs. By shaking up convention with his subtle readings, sometimes even rewriting the composer’s score, the Belgian conductor is the one of those rare few who always find an elegant way to bring the repetitive mannerisms of the Baroque to life.

By all rights, Agrippina should be a tragedy. It begins with news of Claudius' death and ends with a roll call of doom, with political intrigue, power struggles, infidelity and dysfunction filling in the blanks. The Roman Empire is rife with opera fodder, and operas are rife with tales of Greek gods and Roman heroes (and anti-heroes).

Beklemmend, aber auch komisch zeigt Kosky, wie wirkungsvoll Betrug doch ist; Ähnlichkeiten mit lebenden Personen sind dabei nicht beabsichtigt, aber unvermeidlich.

Dans l'opéra de Haendel donné en version de concert, la mezzo-soprano règne sur la scène du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. 

Convertida en una especie Khaleesi de vodevil, DiDonato ofreció una magnífica actuación en un papel que estrena con esta gira europea, acompañada de un cartel de suplentes que estuvo, cuando menos, a su nivel.

Robert Carsen inszeniert Händels Agrippina als köstliche Sex & Crime-Komödie mit Tempo, Witz und italienischer Eleganz.