Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto [Import]

George Frideric Handel (Composer), George Petrou (Conductor), Orchestra of Patras (Orchestra), Kristina Hammarström (Performer), Emanuela Galli (Performer), Mary-Ellen Nesi (Performer), Irini Karaianni (Performer), Romina Basso (Performer), Tassis Christoyannnis (Performer), Petros Magoulas (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Kristina Hammarström, Emanuela Galli, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Irini Karaianni, Romina Basso, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchestra of Patras
• Conductor: George Petrou
• Composer: George Frideric Handel
• Audio CD (March 9, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Label: MD&G Records
• ASIN: B0030CNQ4M
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,740 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Overtura

2. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Coro. Viva, il nostro Alcide!

3. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Aria. Presti omai l'Egizia terra

4. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Recitativo. Curio, Cesare venne

5. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Aria. Empio, dirò, tu sei

6. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Recitativo. Già torna in se

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Recitativo. Sire, con Sesto il figlio

2. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Aria. Tu sei il cor di questo core

3. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Recitativo. Madre! Mia vita!

4. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 1. Duetto. Son nata/o a lagrimar

5. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 2. Recitativo. Eseguisti, oh Niren

6. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 2. Sinfonia. 1. Recitativo / 2. Sinfonia

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 2. Arioso. Belle dee di questo core

2. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 2. Recitativo. Questo e luogo di pace

3. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 2. Aria. L'aure che spira

4. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 3. Recitativo. In tal modi si premia

5. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 3. Aria. Dal fulgar di questa spada

6. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act 3. Sinfonia

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Petrou & the Orchestra of Patras, March 15, 2010

By 

Nicholas A. Deutsch (Tarrytown, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Audio CD)

Having given us the best recording yet of Handel's TAMERLANO, conductor George Petrou and his Orchestra of Patras have come up with another winner with this version of GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO, another of the composer's operatic "trifecta" of 1724-5. (The third was RODELINDA.) Once again, Petrou has made his studio recording following stage performances, so we have the best of both worlds; once again, he's put together a team of singers with no weak links. Add to that his near-impeccable conducting and the fine playing, plus an uncut and unadulterated text (original 1724 version with no interpolations), and despite ample competition this version goes straight to the head of the list.
Four of the singers are familiar from past Petrou Handel operas: the indispensible mezzo Mary-Ellen Nesi (a superb Sesto), mezzo Irini Karaianni (a fine Cornelia), baritone Tassis Christoyannis (a powerful Achilla) and Petros Magoulos (the minor role of Curio). Mezzo Romina Basso makes an imperious Tolomeo, and the two "stars," sopranos Emanuela Galli (Cleopatra) and Kristrina Hammerstroem (Cesare) are both excellent artists. The countertenor Nikos Spanatis (mis-listed as a bass on the back cover) is fine in the small part of Nireno, thankfully not padded out with a superfluous aria (as in the Rene Jacobs recording). As always with Petrou, there's a real sense of team-work and common purpose that's immensely satisfying.
I haven't kept up with the flood of performances of this most popular of Handel's operas, both on CD and DVD, and I'm sure other listeners will have favorite singers and recordings. But if you want a consistently vivid and beautiful audio version that does full justice to this inspired and entertaining opera, I strongly recommend Petrou.

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking., December 10, 2011

By 

Henry R. Palmer (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Audio CD)

This is simply a work of infinite beauty, beautifully and sensitively rendered by an exceptional ensemble with period instruments and exquisite voices. Though I have listened to it many times, it never loses it's lustre or fails to move me with the depth of it's emotion. It is hard for me to imagine that there are better recordings of this work out there, which some may say there are, but if so I feel no need or inclination to look for them.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Caveat Emptor, July 16, 2010

By 

Eddie Corbett (Annapolis, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Audio CD)

Petrou's third recording of a complete Handel opera promises much, but unlike his two previous efforts (a peerless TAMERLANO which actually respects Handel's innovations and a solid ARIANNA), Petrou goes off the rails here. And what a shame! It's note complete, which is good. A few of the singers can be numbered among the best who've recorded the opera. BUT: There is too much liberty taken in ornamenting the B-sections of arias, to the point where coherence is lost in an anachronistic re-writing of the melody, which is something we thought went by-the-by when Richard Bonynge stopped recording Handel. Another problem is extremes of tempo: fast arias are frequently sung too fast, while slow arias are protracted beyond structural integrity. Consider Cesare's great set piece in Act II: "Se in fiorito." The singing by Hammarstrom is superb (she is far superior to Mijanovic for Minkowski in terms of vocal skill and characterization, and even better than the terrific Jennifer Larmore for Jacobs), but the repeat of the aria degenerates into silliness in the cadenza, and Handel's violin part is milked for a gaseous comic "turn". Galli's soprano is darker-hued and sappier than the soprano competition (i.e. Schlick), and she is capable of wonderful moments, but the great Act III lament/revenge statement ("Piangero la sorte mia") is turned into hash at the end. Nesi is a vivid Sesto, and seems to color her voice on this outing like a male falsettist. It's an interesting performance, but she's not as easy on the ear as Von Otter for Minkowski. Bernarda Fink's Cornelia for Jacobs remains unequalled, but the two basses, Magoulis and Christoyannis are among the best in their roles. This should be nobody's only recording of GC: for all its flaws (including a weak Sesto and a Cleopatra lacking sensuality), Jacobs is still the one to have.