Three peformances of Monteverdi's opera 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. In the first peformance, Ole Anders Tandberg directs his debut production for Norwegian National Opera. Recorded live in 2010, Birgitte Christensen, Jacek Laszczkowski and Tim Mead head an international cast, with Allesandro De Marchi conducting. In the second performance director Michael Hampe provides a modern interpretation of Monteverdi's opera, recorded live at the Schwetzinger Festspiele in 1993. The performers include Patricia Schumann, Richard Croft, Kathleen Kuhlmann and Harry Peeters. René Jacobs conducts the original-sound ensemble, Concerto Köln. The third and final performance is of choreographer Christian Spuck's ballet with film and dialogue, recorded in 2013 at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart under the direction of Nikolai Vialkowitsch. The production is performed by Gauthier Dance and includes music by, among others, Monteverdi, Martin Donner, Robert Schumann, Emiliana Torrini and Cat Power.