Agrippina (opera) "moments of splendour when Handel applies the full "concerto grosso" treatment." "Agrippina", Handel's second Italian opera, was probably his last composition in Italy. On hearing that her husband, the Emperor Claudius, has died in a storm at sea, Agrippina plots to secure the throne for Nero, her son by a previous marriage. Nero is unenthusiastic about this project, but consents to his mother's wishes ("Con saggio tuo consiglio"). Agrippina obtains the support of her two freedmen, Pallas and Narcissus, who hail Nero as the new Emperor before the Senate. With the Senate's assent, Agrippina and Nero begin to ascend the
Agrippina the Elder to Augustus, a significant factor in the marriages of the emperors and princes of the dynasty. The Annals repeatedly has Agrippina competing for influence with Tacitus simply because she is related to Augustus biologically. Tacitus presents Agrippina as being kindred to aristocratic males, and has her reversing gender roles, which showcases her assumption of male "auctoritas" ("authority") with metaphors of her dressing and undressing. In an example of Agrippina assuming "auctoritas", he says: Using the above epithet, ""(femina) ingens animi"" ("..[a woman], great for her courage"), he assigns a haughty attitude to Agrippina that compels her to explore the affairs