PROLOGUE
Sung by Fortune, Virtue, and Love. They each insist that they are more powerful than the others.
ACT I
The story begins with Otto lamenting about the fact that his wife is having an affair with the emperor of Rome. It is morning, and Nero is parting with Poppea in secret because Nero has not divorced his wife, Octavia, yet. Octavia talks to Seneca, a Stoic philosopher and Nero’s trusted friend, and he sides with her but takes no action. Seneca and Nero then have a big fight because Nero wants a divorce and Seneca insists that he will dishonor himself. Nero asks Poppea to marry him, and she then asks him to order Seneca to kill himself. Otto falls in love with Drusilla.
ACT II
Seneca is brought the news of his death and subsequently kills himself. This makes Poppea happy. Octavia wants Otto to kill Poppea, so he dresses in women’s clothes and attempts to murder her. Love is there to protect her, however, and so she emerges unscathed. Drusilla is blamed for the attempt.
ACT III
Drusilla is arrested, but Otto shows up and takes the blame, revealing that he was acting on Octavia’s orders. Nero exiles Otto, Drusilla, and Octavia. Nero and Poppea are married and Poppea ascends to the throne.
Even though based on an actual event in Roman history, Monteverdi illuminates the negative aspects of each one of the main characters, leaving no one to be portrayed in a positive light (Harnoncourt 140). This negative emphasis gives the characters depth and makes them much more interesting to explore through his text painting.