Category:Nero--music (subject)

Works of music related to Nero

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)