Category:Nero--music (subject)
Works of music related to Nero
<Fiction : Nero (art) -- Nero (literature) -- Nero (cinema)>
Overview
Since the 17th century Nero has been a frequent character in operas and oratorios. The emphasis in operas, starting with Monteverdi's Incoronazione di Poppea, was on Nero as Emperor, his rise and fall and relationship with his mother Agrippina and his wife Poppaea. The main source of inspiration (variously reinterpreted) was the drama Octavia by the Pseudo-Seneca.
The religious theme was instead prominent in the oratorios. The focus was either on the persecution of the early Christians by Nero or on the episode of Simon Magus.
The situation changed at the end of the 19th century. After the success of Quo Vadis? (1895), the "Christian" theme got central stage, with the only exception of Mascagni's opera (1935). Following Sienkiewicz, Nogues and Nowowiejski combined the court intrigues of the classical tradition with the persecution of the early Christians, while Boito also included Simon Magus a central character.
In conclusion, a long series of works of music (from Monteverdi to Mascagni) have been influential in shaping the image of Nero as a tyrannical despote, but only six of them focus on Christian Origins--four oratorios and two operas, namely, Liberati (1677), Ciccioni (1706), Martini (1738), Nogues (1908), Nowowiejski (1909), and Boito (1915).
- @2017 Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan
Bibliography
- Gesine Manuwald, Nero in Opera: Librettos as Transformations of Ancient Sources (Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2013)
Pages in category "Nero--music (subject)"
The following 26 pages are in this category, out of 26 total.
1
- L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea / 1642 Monteverdi / Busenello), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere (cast)
- Claudio Cesare (Claudius Caesar / 1672 Boretti / Aureli), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- Il Nerone (Nero / 1677 Liberati / Ficieno), oratorio (music & libretto)
- Il Nerone (Nero / 1679 Pallavicino / Corradi), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- Agrippina in Baia (1687 Bassani / Contri), opera (music & libretto), Ferrara premiere
- L'ingresso alla gioventù di Claudio Nerone (The Coming of Age of Nero / 1692 Giannettini / Neri), opera (music & libretto), Modena premiere
- Nerone fatto Cesare (Nero Made Emperor / 1692 Perti / Noris), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- Nero = Il Nerone, German ed. (1693 Strungk / Thymich / @1679 Corradi), opera (music & libretto), Leipzig premiere
- Nero = Il Nerone, German ed. (1695 Meder / @1693 Thymich / @1679 Corradi), opera (music), Danzig premiere
- Nerone fatto Cesare (Nero Made Emperor / 1695 Scarlatti / @1692 Noris), opera (music), Naples premiere
- La fortezza al cimento (Nero / 1699 Aldrovandini / Silvani), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- La caduta di Simon Mago (The Fall of Simon Magus / 1706 Ciccioni / Grappelli), oratorio (music & libretto), Rome premiere
- Agrippina (1709 Haendel / Grimani), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere (cast)
- Nerone fatto Cesare (Nero Made Emperor / 1715 Vivaldi / @1692 Noris), opera (music), Venice premiere
- Nerone (Nero / 1721 Orlandini / Piovene), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- Nerone (Nero / 1724 Vignati / @1721 Piovene), opera (music), Milan premiere
- Nerone detronato (Nero Dethroned / 1725 Pescetti / Cimbaloni), opera (music & libretto), Venice premiere
- Nerone = La fortezza al cimento (Nero / 1735 Duni / @1699 Silvani), opera (music), Rome premiere
- S. Pietro (St. Peter / 1738 Martini / Coluzzi), oratorio (music & libretto)
- Néron (Nero / 1879 Rubinstein / Barbier), opera (music & libretto)
- Burning of Rome (1903 Paull), music
- Quo Vadis? (1908 Nouguès / Cain), opera (music & libretto)
- Quo Vadis? (1909 Nowowiejski / Jüngst), oratorio (music & libretto), Amsterdam premiere
- Nerone (Nero / 1915 Boito), opera (music & libretto)
- Nerone (Nero / 1935 Mascagni / Targioni-Tozzetti), opera (music & libretto), Milan premiere (cast)