History - or not?
This was and still is Handel’s most popular opera, and (like Serse) it takes a historical subject – the meeting of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. And (like Serse) it makes an intimate and small scale story out of the epic situation. Unlike Serse, this earlier work was classed as opera seria – but it’s rarely played seriously these days.The Music
Some of the most-played Handel arias are here. “The orchestra in Giulio Cesare is smaller than those of later
Baroque operas, and the musical and dramatic
messages are conveyed with more economy than
later composers used—but with no loss of richness
or emotion. The remarkable solo horn
accompaniment in Caesar’s marvelous Act I aria
“Va, tacito,” for example, recalls the sound of a
hunter’s horns as he moves in on his prey while
simultaneously suggesting the
maneuvers of the character’s
impressive intellect. Cleopatra is
as seductive as she is intelligent:
the onstage band (strings, winds,
a harp, and a theorbo, or large
lute) softly accompanies her
ravishing Act II aria “V’adoro,
pupille,” creating a radiant aura
around her vocal line to help
convince us of her irresistible
charms.”
(Download the entire article, 46 pp, about
the Met production under David McVicar
- live in HD a year or so ago.)
Watch David Daniels’ “Va Tacito” in the
Met production. But many of us will never
forget our wonderful Graham Pushee
singing it for Opera Australia. Compare
Natalie Dessay singing “V’adoro, pupille” with
Dame Joan and Monserrat Caballe.
Our production, our viewing (off site)
Controversy reigns about this production from Salzburg in 2012. But not about the extraordinary voices of Cecilia Bartoli (Cleopatra) and Andreas Scholl (Caesar). Prepare to debate the dangerous pleasures of crazily updating a baroque presentation of a historic moment in ancient times! Clashing reviews from Bachtrack, OperaNews and Opera Today. Images on this page are from this production. Cleopatra - Cecilia Bartoli; Caesar - Andreas Scholl; Cornelia (Pompey’s wife) - Anne Sofie von Otter; Sesto (Cornelia’s son) - Philippe Jaroussky; Tolomeo (Ptolemy) - Christophe Dumaux. Il Giardino Armonico cond. Giovanni Antonini. Directors - Moshe Lieser & Patrice Caurier. Salzburg Whitsun
This meeting will be held at a
private venue, and we will play
the entire opera (4 hours).
Watch for an email detailing the
venue and the start times of
each of the three acts.