Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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The virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion in Reinhard Keiser's 1705 opera Octavia. Meet the cast of the North American premiere of this lavish masterwork at the 2025 Boston Early Music Festival—June 8, 11, 13 & 15 in Boston, MA. Hear from Emőke Baráth (Octavia), Douglas Ray Williams (Nero), Amanda Forsythe (Ormœna), Aaron Sheehan (Piso), Hannah De Priest (Livia), Christian Immler (Seneca), and Jason McStoots (Lepidus)!

Learn more at bemf.org/2025-festival/festival-operas/centerpiece-opera

Video by Kathy Wittman | Ball Square Films