Toronto Summer Music: Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea (concert performance) . Cappella Mediterranea, Leonardo García-Alarcón, conductor, Soloists – Poppea: Sophie Junker Nerone: Nicolò Balducci Ottavia / Virtù: Mariana Flores Ottone: Christopher Lowrey Seneca / Console: Edward Grint Arnalta / Nutrice / Famigliare 1: Samuel Boden Fortuna / Drusilla: Lucía Martín Cartón Amore / Valetto: Juliette Mey Lucano / Soldato 1 / Famigliare 2 / Tribuno: Valerio Contaldo Liberto / Soldato 2 / Tribuno: Riccardo Romeo Littore / Famigliare 3 / Console: Yannis François. July 10, 2025, Koerner Hall.
Time flies when you are having fun, as the saying goes…
It’s hard to believe, but this year’s Toronto Summer Music (July 10 – August 2) marks its 20th season. It all began in the summer of 2006, when TSM under its Artistic Director Agnes Grossmann launched its first full, four-week Festival, offering a program that featured a mix of home grown talents and celebrated international artists.
As someone who has been attending TSM events from the very beginning, I can honestly say that it has contributed immeasurably to the musical life of Toronto in the summer months, usually a time of year when concert programming takes a hiatus. With TSM there’s no need to travel out of town for a musical fix. I heard many terrific TSM events that have forever etched in my memory bank.
Last evening in Koerner Hall, a well attended, highly enthusiastic if not quite full audience witnessed a scintillating concert performance of Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea (1643), his last opera and one of a handful of the oldest operatic works still performed today. In fact, this opera was staged by the Canadian Opera Company way back in 1983, starring Carmen Balthrop and Michael Myers as the lovers.
There are several versions of this piece, all quite lengthy at approximately three hours with one intermission. I am pretty sure the COC production was cut. Therefore, I was surprised to read in the TSM brochure that it was only two hours long, which turned out to be inaccurate. Last evening was quite the marathon, clocking in at three hours 20 minutes! Never mind — every minute was enjoyable.
The French troupe, Cappella Mediterranea, currently on tour in North America, made a welcome stop at TSM. A cast of 11n soloists, some tackling multiple roles, brought this early classic to life, supported by 12 musicians, playing on a mix of contemporary and period instruments.
Concert Performance
It was a concert performance with no sets to speak of. But it was decidedly not the “stand and sing” — or more indelicately coined “park and bark” — variety.
In fact, there was plenty of stage action. We got a cast of young and energetic singers with (mostly) fine voices, totally game when it comes to stage antics. There was literally not a dull moment. They wore character-appropriate attires, nothing too elaborate mind you, with costume changes for those assuming multiple roles.
The Singers
For such an early work, Coronation of Poppea has quite a lot of demanding vocal writing, particularly for the women, with vocal lines that go above the stave, albeit no high Cs. All the soloists were up to the task and sang up a storm.
Kudos to the two leads, soprano Sophie Junker (Poppea) and countertenor Nicolo Balducci (Nero). They had excellent chemistry and the requisite charismatic stage presence. Their love duet was a highlight of the evening.
Perhaps it’s a bit unfair to single out only one or two in the supporting cast for praise, as I can honestly say that there was not a weak link. That said, I was quite struck by Argentine soprano Mariana Flores for her fierce, in-your-face Ottavia.
Also noteworthy was the Lucano of Italian tenor/Tafelmusik soloist Valerio Contaldo. In the crystal-clear acoustics of Koerner Hall, the Cappella Mediterranea, a 12-member chamber ensemble under Music Director Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon, produced truly lovely sounds that was a pleasure to the ear.
A 21st Century Staging
While this opera is some 380 years old, the overall feel of this performance is decidedly 21st Century. The staging of this supposedly concert performance begs the question – can we, or should we, consider this performance historically authentic or accurate?
While it’s impossible to know for sure what performance practice was like in the 17th century, I rather doubt that a performance nearly four centuries ago would be as dramatically rousing as what we saw last evening. That said, this opera premiered in the Carnival in Venice, so perhaps that there were lots of fun and game for the occasion. We’ll never know!
In any case, the enthusiastic audience last evening lapped it all up, giving the performers huge, repeated, and much deserved ovations at the end. It was a grand start to the 2025 Toronto Summer Music Festival, with plenty more gems for the eyes and ears, until August 2.
- Take your pick [HERE].
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