I have been photographer at Longborough Opera for a number of season, and love returning every summer, but L’incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi) threw up a new challenge that I hadn’t experienced before…

So what was the challenge? A giant Theorbo placed right in the middle of the stage! And no, I didn’t no what a Theorbo was prior to chatting with the musician playing it prior to the opera starting! It is a baroque instrument bearing 14 strings, and being inconveniently 2m long. I understand all the artistic reasons why it was given centre stage, but it did require much more care to be taken on my position when photographing the opera singers. After a quick shuffle around, I managed to find a spot where I would have the option to either include, or exclude the beautiful (but photographically distracting) instrument, just in time for the performance to start.

Beautiful staging during L’incoronazione di Poppea at Longborough Opera

Large colourful backdrops always make my job as an opera photographer much easier!

This was my first time photographing L’incoronazione di Poppea

This was a young artist opera production, so all singers were under 25. Just to be clear, that by no stretch of the imagination means a compromise in quality. The whole thing was stunning in every aspect, from the singers and the orchestra, to the set design and the lighting. It was an opera photographers dream!

Playing

Dramatic scene with the canvas in the background, where the characters wrote words that reflected the issues being addresses in the scene

What made this performance even more enjoyable than usual was that I had also been commissioned by Longborough Opera to spend some time photographing the cast at their rehearsals too. These took place in Hackney, London, not far from where I live. There was something very satisfying about seeing a scene unravel on stage that I had seen in its infancy just a couple of weeks before.

I felt very privileged to be at the London opera rehearsals in London. Watching how Jenny Miller directed her young cast was fascinating. It also lead to some fantastic photographic opportunities, especially with the backdrop of the windows at the church that they were rehearsing at in East London.

Backstage at LFO’s L’incorazione di Poppea

Jenny Miller directing her young cast

Young Artists rehearsing

Backstage at the rehearsal of L’incoronazione di Poppea, prior to the opera being shown at Longborough

Rehearsal for L’incorazione di Poppea

Behind the scenes opera photography

Music Maestro

Young Artists rehearsing

So. To the performance. The singers were very talented, and expressive, making the opera a real pleasure to photograph. There was perhaps more interaction between the performers, and more dynamism in their movements than in the average opera, so the pictures often told the story very clearly. Interesting gestures and movement of fabrics breathed life into the photos, and I particularly liked the inventive use of head torches on the Gods, which were later used to illuminate members of the cast on stage.

LFO’s L’incorazione di Poppea, by Monteverdi

The dynamism in the play made for interesting pictures

As an opera photographer, beautiful staging and costumes always makes me happy!

Inventive lighting, using head torches on the Gods made for some interesting opera photos

The set design was very interesting and modern. Numerous light panels created a pleasing symmetry to the stage – something that I absolutely love as an opera photographer! The silhouettes of the opera singers against these light panels also made for very interesting pictures. I love sets and lighting like this, which offer plenty of objects and shapes to play around with. I particularly enjoyed the gods (who control the human characters) writing words on a large blank canvas at the back of the stage, reflecting their negative views of humanity.

Shadows and symmetry

A divide created by the panel

Orange and blue panels complimented each other in the photos

As with many of the scenes, there was plenty going on in both the foreground and background, which made for interesting photos

Silhouettes with the light panels

Quirky props

The gods expressing their views on humanity

The set had a lot of depth, allowing for secondary action going on behind. Often this was the gods watching the humans’ actions. Although this created the challenge of trying to keep the compositions clean and uncluttered, it also made for an interesting set of opera photos, perhaps more a kin to a theatre production than a typical opera.

This young artist production felt in no way different to any other of the stunning operas that I have photographed at Longborough. It was a privilege to photograph the rehearsal of L’incoronazione di Poppea in London as well as the dress rehearsal. It was an extremely well thought-out and dazzling performance, adding a modern twist to an opera traditionally set in the Roman Empire.

So much attention to detail in every scene

L’incorazione di Poppea by LFO’s Young artists

Final scene