# L'incoronazione di Poppea discography

These lists show the audio and visual recordings of L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi. The opera was premiered in Venice in 1642-43, but after a 1651 revival in Naples it remained unperformed for 250 years. It began to enter the general opera repertory in the 1960s, and thereafter was increasingly performed in leading opera houses and festivals.

## Summary of recording history

The first recording of L'incoronazione, with Walter Goehr conducting the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in a live stage performance, was issued in 1954. This LP version, which won a Grand Prix du Disque in 1954, is the only recording of the opera that predates the revival of the piece that began with the 1962 Glyndebourne Festival production. In 1963 Herbert von Karajan and the Vienna Staatsoper issued a version described by The Gramophone as "far from authentic", while the following year John Pritchard and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded an abridged version using Leppard's Glyndebourne orchestration. Leppard conducted a Sadler's Wells production, which was broadcast by the BBC and recorded on 27 November 1971. This is the only recording of the opera in English.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 1974 version, the first recording without cuts, used period instruments in an effort to achieve a more authentic sound, although Denis Arnold has criticised Harnoncourt's "over-ornamentation" of the score, particularly his use of oboe and trumpet flourishes. Arnold showed more enthusiasm for Alan Curtis's 1980 recording, live from La Fenice in Venice. Curtis uses a small band of strings, recorders and continuo, with trumpets reserved for the final coronation scene. Subsequent recordings have tended to follow the path of authenticity, with versions from baroque specialists including Richard Hickox and the City of London Baroque Sinfonia (1988), René Jacobs and Concerto Vocale (1990), and John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists.
In more recent years, videotape and DVD versions have proliferated. The first was in 1979, a version directed by Harnoncourt with the Zürich Opera and chorus. Leppard's second Glyndebourne production, that of 1984, was released in DVD form in 2004. Since then, productions directed by Jacobs, Christophe Rousset and Marc Minkowski have all been released on DVD, along with Emmanuelle Haïm's 2008 Glyndebourne production in which the Festival finally rejects Leppard's big-band version in favour of Haim's own small orchestra setting.

## List of recordings

The lists below refer to complete performances; excerpts and highlights are excluded. The year given is the year of the recording.

### Audio

| Year | Cast Poppea, Nerone, Ottavia, Ottone, Seneca | Conductor Opera house/Orchestra | Label |
| 1952 | Sylvia Gähwiller, Friedrich Bruckner-Rüggeberg, Maria Helbing, Mabelle Ott-Penetto, Franz Kelch | Walter Goehr Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich | LP: Concert Hall, Cat: CHS1184 |
| 1963 | Sena Jurinac, Gerhard Stolze, Margarita Lilowa, Otto Wiener, Carlo Cava | Herbert von Karajan, Vienna Staatsoper | Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon, Cat: 457 674-2 |
| 1963 | Ursula Buckel, Hans-Ulrich Mlelsch, Eugenia Zareska, Grayston Burgess, Eduard Wollitz [de] | Rudolf Ewerhart [de], Santini Chamber Orchestra | LP: Vox, Cat: OPBX113 |
| 1964 | Magda László, Richard Lewis, Frances Bible, Walter Alberti, Carlo Cava | John Pritchard, Glyndebourne Chorus Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | LP: HMV, Cat: SLS 908 |
| 1966 | Claudia Parada [es], Mirto Picchi, Mirella Parutto, Renato Cesari, Boris Christoff | Carlo Franci [de], Maggio Musicale Fiorentino | CD: Opera d'oro, Cat: OPD1243 |
| 1966 | Carol Bogard, Charles Bressler, Sharon Hayes, John Thomas, Herbert Beattie | Alan Curtis, Oakland Symphony Orchestra University of California chorus | LP: Cambridge, Cat: CRM 8901 |
| 1971 | Janet Baker, Robert Ferguson, Katherine Pring, Tom McDonnell, Clifford Grant | Raymond Leppard, Sadlers Wells Opera (Sung in English; BBC broadcast 21 November 1971 | Oriel Music Society, Cat: OMS 046/3 |
| 1974 | Helen Donath, Elisabeth Söderström, Cathy Berberian, Paul Esswood, Giancarlo Luccardi | Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien | Teldec Cat: 2292-42547-2 |
| 1980 | Carmen Balthrop, Carolyn Watkinson, Andrea Bierbaum, Henri Ledroit, Ulrik Cold | Alan Curtis Il Complesso Barocco | LP: Aperta Cat: LMA3008 |
| 1988 | Daniela Dessì, Josella Ligi, Adelisa Tabiadon, Susanna Anselmi, Armando Caforio, Kumiko Yoshii | Alberto Zedda Bassano Pro Arte Orchestra | LP & CD: Nuova Era Cat: J6737/9 |
| 1988 | Arleen Auger, Della Jones, Linda Hirst, James Bowman, Gregory Reinhart | Richard Hickox City of London Baroque Sinfonia | Virgin Classics Cat: 90775-2 |
| 1990 | Danielle Borst, Guillemette Laurens, Jennifer Larmore, Axel Köhler, Michael Schopper | René Jacobs Concerto Vocale | Harmonia Mundi Cat: 901330/2 |
| 1996 | Sylvia McNair, Dana Hanchard, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance, Francesco Ellero d'Artegna | John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists | Archiv Cat: 447 088-2 |
| 1997 | Anna Caterina Antonacci, David Daniels, Nadja Michael, Axel Köhler, Kurt Moll | Ivor Bolton, Members of Bavarian State Orchestra | Farao Classics, Cat: B108 020 |
| 2000 | Guillemette Laurens, Flavio Oliver, Gloria Banditelli, Fabian Schofrin, Ivan Garcia | Gabriel Garrido, Ensemble Elyma | K617, Cat: K617110 |
| 2005 | Patrizia Biccirè, Liliana Rugiero, Angela Bucci William Matteuzzi, Raffaele Costantini | Sergio Vartolo, Capella Musicale di San Petronio | Brillant, Cat: BLC 92752 |
| 2010 | Emanuela Galli, Roberta Mameli, Xenia Meijer, José María Lo Monaco, Raffaele Costantini | Claudio Cavina, La Venexiana | Glossa, Cat: GCD 920916 |
| 2020 | Oksana Maltseva, Shin Yoowon, Susanna Rigacci, Choi Seoyeon | Federico Bardazzi | Bongiovanni |

### Video

| Year | Cast Poppea, Nerone, Ottavia, Ottone, Seneca | Conductor, Opera house/Orchestra | Label |
| 1979 | Rachel Yakar, Eric Tappy, Trudeliese Schmidt, Paul Esswood, Matti Salminen | Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zurich Opera and Chorus Stage director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle | DVD: Deutsche Grammophon, Cat. No.0734174 |
| 1984 | Maria Ewing, Dennis Bailey, Cynthia Clarey, Dale Duesing, Robert Lloyd | Raymond Leppard, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Glyndebourne Festival chorus Glyndebourne Festival, 1984 Director: Peter Hall | DVD: Kultur, Cat. No.PC47368 |
| 1993 | Patricia Schumann, Richard Croft, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Jeffrey Gall, Harry Peters | René Jacobs, Concerto Köln Schwetzingen Festival, 1993 | DVD: Arthaus, Cat: 100 108 |
| 1994 | Cynthia Hayman, Brigitte Balleys, Ning Liang, Michael Chance, Harry van der Kamp | Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques Muziektheater Amsterdam Director: Pierre Audi | DVD: Kultur, Cat: |
| 2000 | Mireille Delunsch, Anne Sofie von Otter, Sylvie Brunet, Charlotte Hellekant, Denis Sedov | Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre Festival d'Aix en Provence, 2000 | DVD: Bel Air, Cat: |
| 2008 | Danielle de Niese, Alice Coote, Tamara Mumford, Iestyn Davies, Paolo Battaglia | Emmanuelle Haïm, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Glyndebourne Festival, 2008 Stage direction: Robert Carsen | DVD: Decca, Cat: 0743339 |
| 2009 | Miah Persson, Sarah Connolly, Maite Beaumont, Jordi Domènech, Franz-Josef Selig | Harry Bicket, Baroque Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Recorded live February 2009 Director: David Alden | Blu-ray: Opus Arte, Cat: BD7105 |
| 2010 | Danielle de Niese, Philippe Jaroussky, Anna Bonitatibus, Max Emanuel Cencic, Antonio Abete | William Christie, Les Arts Florissants Recorded live, May 2010, Teatro Real, Madrid Director: Pier Luigi Pizzi | DVD: EMI/Virgin Classics |
| 2010 | Birgitte Christensen, Jacek Laszczkowski, Patricia Bardon, Tim Mead, Giovanni Battista Parodi | Alessandro De Marchi, Orchestra of the Norwegian National Opera Stage director: Ole Anders Tandberg | Blu-ray: EuroArts Cat: 205 8924 |
| 2012 | Sonya Yoncheva, Max Emanuel Cenčić, Ann Hallenberg, Tim Mead, Paul Whelan | Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d'Astrée Recorded live, March 2012, Opéra de Lille Stage director: Jean-François Sivadier | DVD: Virgin Classics Cat: 928991-9 |
| 2017 | Hana Blažíková, Kagnmin Justin Kim, Marianna Pizzolato, Carlo Vistoli, Gianluca Buratto | John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir Semi-staged, recorded June 2017, Teatro La Fenice | Blu-ray: Opus Arte |
| 2018 | Sonya Yoncheva, Kate Lindsey, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Carlo Vistoli, Renato Dolcini | William Christie, Les Arts Florissants Salzburg Festival, 2018 Stage director: Jan Lauwers | Streaming video: Carnegie Hall+ DVD/CD: Harmonia Mundi, Cat: HAF890262224 |
| 2020 | Oksana Maltseva, Shin Yoowon, Susanna Rigacci, Choi Seoyeon | Federico Bardazzi | Bongiovanni |