On the town: They will soon be immersed in a story of blood, intrigue, sexual encounters, infidelity and madness. The young opera singers smiled happily at the gory prospect at a reception in Dublin this week, where they were gathered to announce details of the upcoming production of The Coronation of Poppea.
Steve Wallace, a counter-tenor from Liverpool, had a gleam in his eye as he described his character, the Emperor Nero, as "a bit mad".
"I have to banish the empress at the end of the day," he said. "Then when my counsellors start to disagree with me, I decide to put them to death."
"Nero kills anyone who stands in his path," explained Annilese Miskimmon, director of this version of the famous Monteverdi opera, which is, she said, "a masterpiece. It's quite a sexy, dark, funny opera. It's very modern - it's like watching a Tarantino movie".
Doreen Curran, a mezzo soprano from Derry, will play the empress.
"I can't give Nero an heir . . . and I try to have his girlfriend killed," she said.
Allison Cook, a mezzo soprano who will play the emperor's girlfriend, Poppea, was amused at the idea.
"It's a baroque opera, very early, written in 1643," said soprano Virginia Kerr, who is chair of the Opera Theatre Company. With the participation of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, which performs the music, "this is the first fully staged production with period instruments to be done by an Irish company", she added proudly.
The Coronation of Poppea will be performed in the Helix, Dublin on Fri, Sept 9, Sun, 11, and Tue, 13; in the Grand Opera House, Belfast, on Fri, 16, and Sat, 17; in the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, on Tue, 20; and in the Millennium Forum, Derry on Fri, 23