Staffan Valdemar Holm begins to rehearse Agrippina

On 7 August, Drottningholms Slottsteater will at last be staging its premiere of Handel’s Agrippina, and today the ensemble are meeting for the first time. The production is directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm, and Swedish opera star Ann Hallenberg will be singing the title role in this ironic comedy of power and eroticism.

Due to the pandemic, last year’s premiere at Drottningholms Slottsteater had to be postponed until this year’s season. Now rehearsals have begun at last for a production in which the internationally acclaimed artistic duo of Staffan Valdemar Holm (direction) and Bente Lykke Möller (stage design and costumes) will be making their mark on an opera that is over 300 years old. Despite its age, the work retains its appeal, however: “We still see power plays of this type even today,” says Holm. “We just have to turn the TV on and watch the American Senate or the Swedish Riksdag. The infighting and backstabbing haven’t changed in the 300 years since the opera was written.”

The Drottningholm Court Theatre itself is almost as old as the opera and is world-unique in being so well-preserved, in particular the hand-operated stage machinery from 1766 that is still fully functional. Ann Hallenberg is Artist in Residence at the historical theatre and has been instrumental in the choice of work and artistic team. In the role of Agrippina she drives the plot forwards with her ambition and ruthless lust for power. “The audience will take home with them a vision of an inverted gender power hierarchy,” says Holm. “It’s already there in the work, but we amplify it to make it explicit and fun.”

Agrippina was composed by Handel for the 1710 Venice carnevale. The story is drawn from Ancient Rome and centres on the power-hungry Empress Agrippina, who conspires to secure the throne for her son Nerone after the death of Emperor Claudio.

Ann Hallenberg is an outstanding international opera singer, although remains something of an unknown on the Swedish cultural scene. Her career has taken her to the world’s leading opera stages, festivals and concert halls, and her performances have earned her glowing reviews. She is a lyrical mezzo-soprano and known as one of the world’s foremost baroque singers.

Staffan Valdemar Holm has worked on many stages around the world, but this is his first time at Drottningholms Slottsteater. This autumn he will also be directing at Copenhagen’s Republique theatre.

Performances will be held between 7 and 22 August for audiences subject to the restrictions in force.

Agrippina
Music: Georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto: Vincenzo Grimani
Conductor: Francesco Corti
Director: Staffan Valdemar Holm
Stage design and costumes: Bente Lykke Møller
Sound design: Torben Lendorph
Makeup and wigs: Sofia Ranow

Cast
Claudio: Nahuel Di Pierro
Agrippina, his wife: Ann Hallenberg
Nerone, her son: Bruno de Sá
Ottone, commander of the army: Kristina Hammarström
Poppea, his beloved: Roberta Mameli
Pallante: Giacomo Nanni
Narciso: Kacper Szelążek
Lesbo: Mikael Horned
The Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra.

With the kind support of the Friends of Drottningholms Slottsteater through the Henrik Nordmark Trust.

For more information, please contact:
Elin West, press officer at Drottningholms Slottsteater, 0733 50 26 25, elin.west@dtm.se