Short costume picture on the infamous Roman Emperor.

The opera by Georg Friedrich Handel.

As the imperious title empress, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads the Met premiere of Handel’s tale of deception and deceit. Harry Bicket conducts Sir David McVicar’s wry new production, which gives this Baroque black comedy a politically charged, modern updating.

Her position at the side of her husband, Emperor Claudius, is not enough to satisfy the ambition of Agrippina, Empress of Rome. She schemes to elevate her son by her first marriage, Nero, to the throne. Then she will need only Nero to accomplish and acquire everything she dreams of.