How are the sex kitten's songs characterized?
Of the main characters, only Otho is not morally contemptible. Agrippina is an unscrupulous schemer; Nero, while not yet the monster he would become, is pampered and hypocritical; Claudius is pompous, complacent, and something of a buffoon, while Poppaea, the first of Handel's sex kittens, is also a liar and a flirt. The freedmen Pallas and Narcissus are self-serving and salacious. All, however, have some redeeming features, and all have arias that express genuine emotion. The situations in which they find themselves are sometimes comic, but never farcical—like Mozart in the Da Ponte operas, Handel avoids laughing at his characters.In Agrippina the da capo aria is the musical form used to illustrate character in the context of the opera. The first four arias of the work exemplify this: Nero's "Con raggio", in a minor key and with a descending figure on the key phrase "il trono ascenderò" ("I will ascend the throne") characterises him as weak and irresolute. Pallas's first aria "La mia sorte fortunata", with its "wide-leaping melodic phrasing" introduces him as a bold, heroic figure, contrasting with his rival Narcissus whose introspective nature is displayed in his delicate aria "Volo pronto" which immediately follows. Agrippina's introductory aria "L'alma mia" has a mock-military form which reflects her outward power, while subtle musical phrasing establishes her real emotional state. Poppaea's arias are uniformly light and rhythmic, while Claudius's short love song "Vieni O cara" gives a glimpse of his inner feelings, and is considered one of the gems of the score.
light rhythmic