Arrigo Boito Nerone opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2021 by Olivier Tambosi at the Bregenz Festival. Stars Rafael Rojas (Nerone), Lucio Gallo (Simon Mago), Brett Polegato (Fanuèl), Svetlana Aksenova (Asteria), Alessandra Volpe (Rubria), Miklós Sebestyén (Tigellino), Taylan Reinhard (Gobrias), Ilya Kutyukhin (Dositèo), Katrin Wundsam (Cerinto / Pèrside), Hyunduk Kim (Primo Viandante), and Shira Patchornik (Voce di Donna). Dirk Kaftan conducts the Wiener Symphoniker and the Prague Philharmonic Choir (Chorus Master Lukáš Vasilek). Set design by Frank Philipp Schlössmann; costume design by Gesine Völlm; lighting design by Davy Cunningham. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Hugo Shirley (page 80 of the September 2022 Gramophone) warns of “a dark world of contemporary decadence.” Only a dedicated opera expert could be expected to tolerate this sort of “serious, grimly compelling work.” Well, Shirley is such an expert, and he calls this a “welcome release” as it appears to be the only video ever published of Nerone. In the November 2022 Opera News (page 57), Clive Paget says “it’s all deliciously gory—even a trifle camp at times—and the cast whoops it up for all it’s worth.” Both Paul Corfield Godfrey and Jim Westhead wrote long (but inconclusive) reviews of this for musicweb-international.com—look these up if you want to learn more.
Check out the gory trailer below from C Major to see if you have the guts to watch this:
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