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Staged in the Italian original with Czech, English and German titles.

Duration 4 hours, including 2 intermissions.

Synopsis of the Opera
Act 1
Agrippina receives news that her husband, Emperor Claudius, has died
in a storm while returning from a military expedition to Britain. She
does not hesitate and begins to weave a plot to secure the throne for
Nero, her son from a previous marriage. In order to gain the support
of Narcissus and Pallas, she invites them in turn to come and see her
and promises them her favour and a role in the administration if Nero
takes the throne. At the moment at which everyone is symbolically
burying Claudius and proclaiming Nero emperor, Lesbus appears with
the news that Claudius is alive. He has been saved by commander of
the army Otho, who presently arrives and announces that Claudius
has promised him the throne as a sign of his gratitude. However, he
confides to Agrippina that he desires his beloved Poppaea more than
the throne.
Agrippina knows that Claudius also desires Poppaea and she
sets another plot in motion. She tells Poppaea that Otho has traded
her love for the Roman throne and advises her to pretend to Claudius
that Otho has forced her to reject his proposals of love. Poppaea
believes Agrippina and makes Claudius promise her that Otho will not
become emperor. Claudius’s overtures are interrupted by the arrival
of Agrippina, who consoles Poppaea and cynically assures her of her
friendship.

Act 2
Pallas and Narcissus realise that Agrippina has just been using them.
Otho, who is preparing for the coronation, enters. Everyone pays tribute
to Claudius. Otho claims his reward, but is denounced as a traitor.
He is devastated by Claudius’s accusation and appeals to Agrippina,
Poppaea and Nero for their support, but everyone turns their back on
him. The miserable Otho does not regret losing the throne, he only
desires his beloved Poppaea. She hears his lamentations and begins to
doubt his guilt. She pretends to be asleep and to talk in her sleep. Otho
overhears her and convinces her that it is Agrippina’s intrigues that lie
behind everything. Poppaea swears to take her revenge on her. She is
interrupted by Nero, who also confesses his love for her. Agrippina tries
to save the situation and asks Pallas to kill Narcissus and Otho. She
continues her scheming when she discovers Claudius in her bedroom
and tries to convince him to appoint Nero as his successor. Claudius
promises to think it over and runs off to meet up with Poppaea.

Act 3
Poppaea has prepared a deceit of her own. She hides Otho in the garden,
where she has also invited Nero. He confesses his love to her
again, but he too is hidden by Poppaea in the garden maze. Claudius
arrives and Poppaea convinces him that it was Nero who ordered her
to reject him, not Otho. The names sound so similar, do they not?
To prove her claim, she asks Claudius to pretend to leave. The impassioned
Nero appears and is caught by Claudius. Otho and Poppaea can
finally breathe a sigh of relief and confess their love for each other.
Nero has no choice but to confess to Agrippina how he has ruined
her plan. Agrippina orders him to give up his love for Poppaea and
to see her as an enemy. Pallas and Narcissus confess to Claudius that
Agrippina has tried to place Nero on the throne with their help. She
denies their accusations and masterfully gets them both to vouch for
her that it was just a ruse intended to protect Claudius’s throne. He
wants to have peace at last for his amorous adventures and therefore
decides that Nero will get Poppaea as his wife and Otho will get the
throne. No one is satisfied with this, however. Otho would rather have
his love for Poppaea than to rule, and Nero will get the throne. Agrippina
has won this time.

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