La Monnaie / De Munt LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT
© Antonin Waterkeyn / Midjourney
Opera

I Grotteschi
Claudio Monteverdi
Leonardo García Alarcón, Rafael R. Villalobos

Presentation
Opera

A new family saga, distilled from L’Orfeo, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) was among the founders of a new genre that was to restore Greek tragedy: opera. One of his first favole in musica follows the singing poet Orpheus, who with his enchanting music convinces the gods to retrieve his beloved Eurydice from the underworld. While the young composer wrote L’Orfeo (1607) for a select audience at the court of Mantua, with Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1639–40), the now acclaimed master created his first musical drama for Venice’s public opera scene. For years, Penelope has been searching the horizon for her husband Odysseus. When the king of Ithaca finally reaches his home port, his wife is surrounded by pestering suitors whom Odysseus has to drive away in disguise and with help from above. Monteverdi took a final step with L’incoronazione di Poppea (1642), in which the mistress of the Roman emperor Nero goes to extremes to have herself crowned empress.  

‘Pur ti miro / Pur ti godo’ (I look at you, I long for you), Nerone and Poppea sing at the end, when nothing stands in their way. This opposition, between merely looking and longing, is the starting point for I Grotteschi, a new twofold performance distilled from the Monteverdi trilogy. Over the course of two evenings, we are introduced to a successful family business that shuts itself off from the world during a pandemic. While Orpheus mourns his Eurydice, Penelope patiently watches over her mortally ill husband Odysseus. The young Nerone sees his chance and, together with Poppea, forges plans to take over the empire. Driven by loss and desire, the isolated family members gradually become entangled in a suffocating power struggle.  

Director Rafael R. Villalobos reduced the almost fifty initial roles to a small group of ‘grotesques’, composite characters who all bear allegorical names and sometimes have more than two faces. Villalobos’s thoughtful retelling calls for an equally informed musical vision, for which La Monnaie can count on conductor Leonardo García Alarcón and his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea. 

Are you under 30? Then attend this opera on the Young Opera Nights (17.4.2025 and 2.5.2025) and we treat you to a personal welcome, a free drink, a free programme book and an after-event.

Dates & tickets

 – 

Location

La Monnaie

Prices

Start ticket sale 16.1.2025

Dynamic ticket prices
Starting from € 12 to € 170
-30 years: € 10 / 25 / 50
-15 years: € 10 / 25 (only via MM Tickets)

Language

Sung in Italian
Surtitles in Dutch and French

Presentation

Introductory talks 45' before the start of the performance: in Dutch by Frederic Delmotte (Grand Foyer) and in French by Delphine Clarinval (Bonbonnière)

Dates & tickets

Dates

Cast
Cast

A new drama based on Monteverdi’s madrigals and three surviving operas – L’Orfeo (1607), Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1639-1640), L’incoronazione di Poppea (1642)

World premiere

ConductorLEONARDO GARCÍA ALARCÓN Scenario, Director & Costume DesignerRAFAEL R. VILLALOBOS

Set DesignerEMANUELE SINISI Lighting DesignerFELIPE RAMOS

FortunaGIULIA SEMENZATO PrivilegioMATTHEW NEWLIN VirtùRAFFAELLA LUPINACCI CostanzaSTÉPHANIE D’OUSTRAC CoraggioJEREMY OVENDEN MelancoliaMARK MILHOFER CaritàARIANNA VENDITELLI GiudizioANICIO ZORZI GIUSTINIANI ImpazienzaJESSICA NILES CapriccioFEDERICO FIORIO SapienzaANDREA MASTRONI EsperienzaXAVIER SABATA

Cappella Mediterranea

ProductionDE MUNT / LA MONNAIE

In co-production with Shelter Prod and Prospero MM Productions, with the support of Taxshelter.be and ING
With the support of the Belgian Federal Government's Tax Shelter

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