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(More customer reviews)This production of Handel's most popular opera Giulio Cesare (1724) was made in 1984 for english television. First, it had been presented on stage by the English National Opera whose speciality is to offer operas in english translation. Although this way of doing operas has been abandoned long ago everywhere in the world, it is still in use at ENO. While listening to Monteverdi sung in English is horrible and unmusical, it is happily not so with Handel's operas originally written on italian librettos. Everyone has already heard Handel's music sung in English, The Messiah, for example. I would have prefered the original version with subtitles, but to my surprise, it felt natural that it was sung in english. The DVD offers optional english subtitles somewhat unnecessary because the singers diction is always perfectly clear.
All singers are excellent, particularly the leading characters Dame Janet Baker as Caesar and Valerie Masterton as Cleopatra/Lydia. Actually, this opera could have been untitled Caesar and Cleopatra, since both characters have the same importance and sing about the same number of arias. Dame Baker's rich mezzo, replacing the original castrato Senesino, expresses the nobility, poise and passion with conviction. Although Miss Masterton's light soprano lacks color, she more than compensate by her dazzling coloraturas and the ease with which she plays the complex character of Cleopatra caught between Caesar and Ptolemy, her brother and associate on the throne of Egypt. Sesto is well sung by Della Jones, but I would have prefered a tenor to play the youthful son of Cornelia, since Handel has rewritten the part for a male voice in 1725. Sarah Walker has not a sumptuous contralto voice, but she conveys all the emotion felt by the widow of Pompey in a very moving way.
Arias are adequately ornemented in the baroque fashion during repeats. The staging seems quite conventional and unimaginative, but adequate and done with precision and professionalism. The fanciful costumes look like a mix of Renaissance, Baroque and ancient Egypt styles. The well known male alto James Bowman, as Ptolemy, looks rather like a buffoon and cannot be taken seriously. On the whole this production looks sumptuous and costly which is well in the baroque fashion.
To make that 4 hours long opera fit into 180 minutes - probably not to stretch too much the patience of a wide television audience - the recitatives have been shortened and some important cuts have been done: a whole scene at the end of act II and a couple of numbers in act III. All thoses scenes concerning the deeds of Ptolemy. So if you do not already know the story, you will not understand what's happening in the third act. The DVD provides no program notes. A single sheet of paper gives a list of the numbers with titles, and that's all. A shame! You will need The New Kobbe's Opera Book to get the whole story.
Musically, the weak part is the orchestra conducted by Sir Mackerras who stubbornly persists in doing baroque music with modern orchestras. In 1984, you could see everywhere baroque operas done with skilled singers and musicians playing in baroque style with period instruments. Not so with Sir Mackerras. Even his omnipresent harpsichord with 16 foot stop dates from the fifties.The sound of the orchestra is heavy and undistinguished, frankly out of style. The sound on the DVD renders perfectly the dry (with some artificial reverberation) sound of a television studio. Immediately after viewing that DVD, I replaced the disc by a CD version of Giulio Cesare with Concerto Köln, conducted by René Jacobs on period instruments. The difference is simply overwhelming!
Why 4 stars? Because this is certainly one of the very best baroque operas! The plot is based on well-known historical characters and events, the libretto is comprehensible, and, the music simply magnificent. Not a single dull moment even during the recitatives! Almost every aria has been used on recitals and records these last 30 years, so you probably know some of that music already. Although this is production of Giulio Cesare is not without weaknesses, I would certainly recommend it: the singers are fabulous; the orchestra has somptuous moments in the overtures and sinfonias; there is a superb chorus at the beginning and at the end, a luxury quite unusual in baroque operas; and there are also two very touching duets equalling the best music in Mozart's operas. When listening to that extraordinary music, you will understand why Beethoven said that Handel was the greatest composer that ever lived.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Handel - Julius Caesar / Mackerras, Baker, Masterson, English National Opera (1984)
Dame Janet Baker, in one of her greatest roles, leads a cast of Britain's finest interpreters of baroque opera, and their performance under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras is one of the highest in musical excellence.Re-staged in a studio, John Copley's acclaimed English National Opera production skillfully uses all the technical advantages to create this excellent program. 180 minutes. Janet Baker: Julius Caesar Valerie Masterson: Cleopatra Sarah Walker: Cornelia Della Jones: Sextus James Bowman: Tolomeo John Tomlinson: Achillas John Kitchiner: Curio Tomemlyn Williams: Nirenus Brian Casey: Pothinus
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