Julius Caesar

I have just come back from a splendid fun semi-staged performance of Handel's Giulio Cesare

All round a good performance, and the audience came away bubbling with enjoyment. Overall a good cast. The two that impressed me most were two I've never heard of: Danielle de Niese, who played Cleopatra - such a babe there were men in the Arena going red as they watched her - and Rachid ben Abdeslam, who played Nerenus - the campest cutest Arabic countertenor I have ever seen, who had us in stitches, almost falling off our seats, at least where I was sitting.

And a really imaginative semi-staging, with lots of falling to the floor, lying on the floor, rolling round on the floor, from quite a number of different voice types.

Very gender-bending, two counter tenors, who always confuse me, anyway, and mezzo-sopranos playing male roles, there was quite a bit of girl-on-girl action between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Also some sibling incest between Ptolomey and Cleopatra - got to have sibling incest...

I like Handel's operas. there's no great hidden message, they're not really designed to move you to tears. They're there to be enjoyed, with lots of lovely tunes, and a few pleasant, if not especially stand-out or memorable arias.

Comments

I too was there last night and thought it fabulous. I just wanted to say how much i enjoy your site, but felt i had to say I find Handel very good at reducing me to tears (this may simply be my low wimpy threshold for such things). Cleopatra's aria "Se pietà di me non senti" closing act two, is one of my all time emotional favorites...I would say that this in fact a 'great Aria'. The Duet between Sesto (Angelika Kirchschlager) and Cornelia (Patricia Bardon) to close Act 1 is also very fine, as to is Sesto’s "Cara Speme, Questo Core" first act aria.

keep up the good work.

Scott

[janek]

Danielle De Niese was wonderful at Glyndbourne last year as a late stand in. A definite star of the future. An absolute beauty too. Did she do frontal nudity here too?

[Gert]

No nudity but a very spare costume