Long before “Game of Thrones,” Claudio Monteverdi’s 1643 opera “The Coronation of Poppea” offered a primer on how to lie, cheat, murder and seduce your way into imperial power.
Was it based on the actual history of Rome? Who can say. The important thing is the way Monteverdi spins out the tale in music of extraordinary eloquence and variety, ranging from action to comedy and culminating in the love duet “Pur ti miro,” one of the most tenderly beautiful treasures of the operatic world.
A decade ago, West Edge Opera offered a production of “Poppea” that set the action in the Kennedy White House. Now the piece returns in what seems to be a more traditional production, staged by director NJ Agwuna and conducted by Adam Pearl. Soprano Shawnette Sulker, a longtime Bay Area treasure, takes the title role, alongside company stalwarts Sarah Coit, Sara Couden and Philip Skinner.