The Metropolitan Opera’s ‘Agrippina’ encores this Sunday at Palace Cineplex

Handel’s tale of intrigue and impropriety in ancient Rome receives its first Met performances, with star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the controlling, power-hungry Agrippina and Harry Bicket conducting. Sir David McVicar’s production ingeniously reframes the action of this black comedy about the abuse of power to ‘the present’, where it should loudly resonate. The all-star cast features mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey as Agrippina’s son and future emperor Nerone, soprano Brenda Rae as the seductive Poppea, countertenor Iestyn Davies as the ambitious officer Ottone, and bass Matthew Rose as the weary emperor Claudius.

“The Met Opera is Handel’s house in Agrippina. A vivid new production, played with electric vividness, and starring a guns-blazing Joyce DiDonato. Bold, snicker-out-loud funny, magnetic, conducting from the harpsichord, Harry Bicket kept the pace crisp and headlong. The singers were fearless and a devilish delight. Handel died more than 250 years ago, but at the Met he seems more vital than ever.”

– New York Times