Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Giulio Cesare is a made up opera in three acts in 1723 by Georg Friedrich Haendel for her own company, Royal Academy off Music. The booklet is an adaptation by Nicola Francesco Haym, of the Giulio Cesare in Egitto represented with Venice in 1675 (text of Giacomo Francesco Bussani, music of Antonio Sartorio).

The opera of Haendel was created with the '' King' S '' theater Haymarket of London the February 20th 1724. It was a success right from the start and Haendel took it again in 1725,1730 and 1732. Before the 20th century, the last representation took place with Hamburg in 1737.

Certain airs like V' adoro, pupil , pietà or Piangero (Cleopatra), Goes tacito or Dall' ondoso periglio (Cesare), Svegliatevi nel core of Sesto or stinging it duet of Cornelia and Sesto which finishes the first act, became parts in concert.

The principal interpreters of creation, in 1724, were:

the Castrato Senesino (Contralto) which played the title role
prima donna to Soprano Francesca Cuzzoni in Cléopatre
the faithful soprano Venetian Margherita Durastanti in the Rôle disguised of Sextus
the English viola Anastasia Robinson as Cornélie
the Castrat Contralto of German origin Gaetano Berenstadt in Ptolémée

Characters

Romans:

Giulio Cesare (Jules Cesar) Contralto

Cornelia (Cornélie, widow of Pumped) Contralto

Sesto (Sextus, his/her son) Soprano

Curio (Powerful orator, aide-de-camp of Cesar) Baritone

Egyptians:

Cleopatra (Cléopâtre, Queen of Egypt) Soprano

Tolemeo (Ptolémée, King d' Egypte, its brother) Contralto

Achilla (Achilles, general, adviser of Ptolémée) Low

Nireno (Nirenus, eunuque and confidant of Cléopatre) Contralto

Argument

The action proceeds around Alexandria in 50 before our era.

Jules César continued until in Egypt its rival Pompée. But Ptolémée, the king of the Egyptians, believing well to make, keep silent Pompée of which it offers the head to César. This one, which was going to conclude peace with its rival, is deeply shocked, and swears by it, in the name of Cornélie and of Sextus, widow and wire of Pumped, to avenge this last. On another side, Ptolémée tries to move away from the throne his/her sister Cléopâtre. This one incognito will seek of the assistance near César, which it allures by interest, but ends up falling in love, soon reciprocal feeling.

The action describes the race for the power between Cléopâtre and Ptolémée, the mourning of Cornélie and the desire of revenge on Sextus, finally the rivaity between Ptolémée and Achillas, sighing of Cornélie. The opera ends in the triumph of César and Cléopâtre to Alexandria, Achilla having died in the combat and Ptolémée killed by Sextus.

Modern versions of Giulio Cesare

Giulio Cesare is the Italian opera of Haendel more represented on the modern scenes. Forgotten during nearly two centuries, work reappears for the first time at Göttingen in Germany in 1922. One takes consequently and for a long time the practice to truncate the partition, to translate the booklet, to cut the da capo (begun again first part of an air, forms universal aria in the Italian opera during the major part of the 18th century), to transpose the majority of the masculine roles for better satisfying the contemporary taste (baritone for Cesar and Ptolémée, at the origin castrati violas…). A French version is born briefly in 1935 (L. Mancini).

It is only with the revival of the Baroque music towards 1970 that versions faithful to the partiton of Haendel appear. Among those, the concert given to the festival of Beaune and the album recorded in 1991 by Rene Jacobs with the American Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore in the role titrates, still makes authority. Within a discography more abundant than for very other Opera seriated, it was the first to propose a full text, not arranged, not transposed, an orchestra virtuoso of original instruments and a theatrical climate faithful to the supposed intentions of the authors.

The principal productions of the chief of work took place with Vienna in 1954 (partition mutilated under the rod of Karl Böhm), in London in 1963 (first attempt at César contralto, with the young person Joan Sutherland in Cléopâtre), with the Bavarian radio in 1965 (version published thereafter), with the ENO of London in 1979 with a little arranged César but marking Janet Baker, in the United States in 1985 then in Europe (Brussels 1988, Nanterre 1990) in a modern and scouring production of Peter Sellars which transported the action in the Middle East very current visited by an US president.

In 2005, the diva Cecilia Bartoli sang for the first Cleopâtre time with Zurich, under the direction of Marc Minkowski. The same year, Giulio Cesare made its entry with the Festival of Glyndebourne in a spectacle of David McVicar directed by William Christie (with Sarah Connolly, Daniele de Niese and Angelika Kirchschlager).

In France, the work undertook a later career. It made its entry with the Opéra of Paris only in 1987 in a facetious and neat spectacle of Nicholas Hytner under the direction of Jean-Claude Malgoire (begun again by Ivor Bolton in 1997 then, abrasive for the first time of original instruments, Marc Minkowski in 2002). The first integral version of the opera heard in France was that of Peter Sellars in 1990, with Jeffrey Gall in the role-car and Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson in that of Sextus. It was also seen, the same year 1999, with Bordeaux (with Nathalie Stutzmann and Mireille Delunsch) and with Montpellier (with Sara Mingardo and Laura Claycomb in a German production of Willy Decker taken again by Christophe Rousset); then in 2007 in Nancy (changed into colonial cabaret by Yannis Kokkos, with Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Ingrid Parakeet) and in Lille (reception of the dishevelled spectacle of David McVicar created in Glyndebourne, under the direction of Emmanuelle Haïm).

From Chicago to Cologne, of Sydney to New York and Genes in Vienna, Giulio Cesare remains, at the beginning of the 21e century, the opera seriated more played in the world.

Discography

Among a score of references, majority recorded on the sharp one without reason for publication, two albums to be listened in priority:

J. Larmore, B. Schlick, B. Fink, Mr. Rörholm, D. Ragin, F. Zanasi, Concerto Köln, to dir. Rene Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi 1991)
Mr. Mijanovic, Mr. Kozena, C. Hellekant, A.S. von Otter, B. Mehta, A. Ewing, Musicians of Louvre, to dir. Marc Minkowski (Archiv-Deutsche Grammophon 2003)

Important files for the quality of their song:

J. Baker, V. Masterson, S. Walker, D. Jones, J. Bowman, J. Tomlinson, to dir. Charles Mackerras (translated into English, Chandos 1979)
W. Berry, L. Pop, C. Ludwig, F. Wunderlich, to dir. Ferdinand Leitner (crossed, transposed, translated into German, Orfeo of gold 1963)

External bonds

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