Monteverdi, I Grotteschi

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) created a new genre aimed at restoring Greek tragedy: opera. One of his earliest favole in musica follows the poet-singer Orpheus to the Underworld, where the gods, charmed by his music, allow him to fetch his beloved Eurydice. Although the young composer wrote L’Orfeo (1607) for the court of Mantua, with Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1639-1640) the master, meanwhile showered with praise, created his first musical drama destined for a public stage, the Venice Opera. For years, Penelope scans the horizon, watching for the return of her husband Ulysses. When the King of Ithaca finally returns home, he finds his wife surrounded by invading suitors, whom he sets out to chase away incognito with the help of the gods. Monteverdi took a final step with L’incoronazione di Poppea (1642), in which Poppea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, manoeuvres to be crowned empress.

At the end, when nothing else stands in their way, Nero and Poppea sing “Pur ti miro / Pur ti godo” [I look at you / I desire you]: this opposition between gaze and desire is the starting point for I Grotteschi, a new diptych distilled from three of Monteverdi’s operas , un nouveau diptyque distillé en puisant dans trois opéras de Monteverdi. Over the course of two evenings, we discover a prosperous family business that cuts itself off from the outside world during a pandemic. While Orpheus mourns his Eurydice, Penelope patiently watches over her seriously ill husband Ulysses. Taking advantage of the situation, the young Nero and the ambitious Poppea hatch plans to take over the empire. Between loss and desire, the members of the family gradually sink into a suffocating power struggle.