Opera Chic

Agrippina Berlin Staatsoper First Look

Countdown to Georg Friedrich Händel's Agrippina at the Berlin Staatsoper! February 4th, Vincent Boussard's new production premieres with sweet stylings by fashion designer Christian Lacroix. We found lots of good insight from one of the young, American stars singing Nerone, Jennifer Rivera, on her blog about working with colleagues Maestro René Jacobs, and lead Alexandrina Pendatchanska, including the YouTube preview below that we hijacked from her website!

[UPDATE]: Jennifer Rivera linked a seven-minute teaser of Agrippina embeded on Zeit's website. Click here to view the video. Jenny makes her O-Face!

Now hold your breath and click the link below for a peek at the first image we've come across of the new production! 

Can You Handle Händel? Jennifer Rivera Certainly Can.

(Above: Jennifer Rivera as Nerone in Agrippina, photo copyright Jennifer Rivera)

Georg Friedrich Händel's Agrippina, a political tale with lots of sexual maniplation thrown in for good measure, all within the background of ancient Rome and a riviting score makes for good opera. One of our favorite young, American mezzo sopranos, Jennifer Rivera (not to be confused with the Mexican pop star who made a steamy secks tape), has freshly arrived in Berlin and is preparing for Agrippina, where she'll be singing the role of Nerone at the Staatsoper in February. In her frank and self-depricating voice that she pulls off so well, Jennifer reflects from the intensive, no mercy, Händel-heavy reshearsals and dares: "Handel's totally gonna be my b1tch by the time this is all over." Awesome. Sounds like something out of a '90s action movie.  

In a new production by Vincent Boussard and costumes by Christian Lacroix, Rivera will share the stage with Maestro René Jacobs, and Alexandrina Pendatchanska as Agrippina, the Bulgarian soprano that takes no prisoners and will steamroll you with her sheer vocal power.