Customer Reviews

Handel - Giulio Cesare / Jacobs

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Julius Caesar" is one of my very favorite operas and I have been waiting not-so patiently for a recording as complete and first-rate as this one. The cast is perfect, headed by "the" Caesar of our time: Jennifer Larmore. I have seen Larmore perform the role at the Metropolitan Opera and this recording actually catches her strong, fervant, romantic and absolutely astonishingly sung perfomance perfectly. The sound, as usual with the Harmonia Mundi label, could not be bettered. The Concerto Koln, led by Rene Jacobs (a period instrument specialist) plays with the passion and precision that is absolutely necessary for this work.

Until this 4CD set was released, one had to do with an abridged version, of which the one on 2 discs starring Beverly Sills must be given first place because of her astounding "Cleopatra." (This is the role, remember, that catapulted Sills to international fame & even onto the cover of "Time" magazine!) Also on a Decca re-release of Handel's "Alcina" (another superb Handel opera) there are about 45 minutes worth of excerpts from "Julius Caesar" with Marilyn Horne triumphant as "Cornelia."

What an exciting opera this is! But let me warn first-time Handel opera listeners: it is very, very long--over four hours of baroque vocal music, so if you're not sure, why not buy the excerpts CD of this recording and after you fall in love with the piece as I did, you can give that CD away as a gift and buy the complete version for yourself. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I am a big Charles Mackerras fan, and generally love his performances. So when I found myself less than enchanted with his recording of "Giulio Cesare" I blamed it on the music, and more or less forgot about the work, letting the album languish on my shelf for years without listening to it. Then I recently bought the "New Penguin Opera Guide" (a book to die for, by the way) and started reading through all the Handel operas, since I am a huge fan of these works (and his oratorios). Imagine my surprise to learn that "Giulio Cesare" is considered one of Handel's finest operas! I thought to myself, "Don't I have that opera?" Looking through my shelves of Handel, sure enough, I rediscovered my Mackerras recording and played it. Nope. Didn't like it, so decided to search for another recording, and the only other one of note is this Rene Jacobs recording, so I quickly ordered it from Amazon. From the first few bars, WOW! What have I been MISSING? I just LOVE this Jacobs performance. Now THAT's the Handel I know and love, I said to myself. This is a very exciting, idiomatic performance and can only wonder what happened to Mackerras when he turned his baton to it. Highly recommended.

Words fail me as to this recording. Finally there is a good and young mezzo-soprano who can finally handle (no pun intended) the true complete score of Giulio Cesare. Jennifer Larmore does full justice to the part -- listen to her in soliloquy-type accompagnamentos as "Alma del gran Pompeo" and "Dall'ondoso periglio...Aure, deh, per pieta," and at the same time be astounded by her vocal acrobatics in such arias as "Quel torrente" and touched by her sensitivity and pureness of tone in "Caro...bella." I guarantee that you will be moved to tears by the end of this remarkable 4-CD set. Barbara Schlick is not my favourite Cleopatra (that is and will forever be Beverly Sills), however her voice handles with amazing agility and unsurpassed beauty the part of the seductive Egyptian queen -- she is not as visibly flamboyant as Sills, but her voice is more calming and young rather than near-startling. This innocence of tone and interpretation really works for such arias as "Non disperar," but in more pensive and introverted arias like "Piangero" I sometimes feel that something is lacking. Nonetheless, she is excellent.

Bernarda Fink is a true mother and sufferer as the best Cornelia on record, and the young Swedish beauty Marianne Rorholm's Sesto takes no lesser place. In such arias as "Svegliatevi nel core" and "La giustizia," I finally I hear a Sesto that convinces me that s/he is an upstart young man -- a skillful singer is one that convinces you that they are the only person for the part, n'est-ce pas?

The Tolomeo, Derek Lee Ragin, is part of the reason for buying this recording, as he was the first countertenor I really came into contact with. Some find his voice white in timbre, but who is a better threatening young Egyptian king than he? No one does such a convincing job. Furio Zanasi is one of the new generation of Italian singers getting into the Early Music act, and it's really about time he should get more recording contracts, because he does an excellent job as Achilla, adding nuance to the role that I am sure no one has ever done before on any recording.

In the lesser roles of Nireno, Dominique Visse does a commendable job, although I find his mezzo a bit annoyingly androgynous at times. Olivier Lallouette does justice to the small part of Curio. He makes himself known, even though his part is by far the smallest. Neither of them actually has arias, although a supplementary one for Nireno is included on the 4th CD (originally written later by Handel for a later production, I think).

Overall, Rene Jacobs has earned his stripes as a musical/musicological genius and must be remembered for both his coordination of this recording and his amazing command of period style as heard through the orchestra. I am also amazed by the interpretation of the continuo, which I have never heard as colourful in any other opera recording. I hope that others will someday follow suit.

Jennifer Larmore is the Caesar of one's dreams!! She along with a stellar cast make this one of the most exciting recordings to date. Bernarda fink is a lusciuos Cornelia and Marianne Rorholm sings Sesto with fiery emotion. Derek Lee Ragin is a perfect Ptolemy and Barbara Schlick is the purest of Cleopatras. If looking for a recording of Cesare this is the one to buy!!

I have owned Minkowski's about a year, maybe more. Being a huge fan of Handel's operas&oratoriums, this opera moved, thrilled and got me high from the first time I heard its music. Minkowski was a great election for the first time ever hearing. Now I've grown deeply in love with the composition I thought it was the time to give it a try with beloves Larmore in the cast. So I bought the Jacob's. To start with, the tempos are quite more on the slow side, and some time too much on the quick side (the virtuosity of Concerto Köln has to be shown), while Minkowski tempos are more balanced. I like better Larmore (Jacob=J)as Caesar, though Marijana Mijanovic (Minkowski=M)does a superb one but her voice is too "countertenor-like" when compared whith Larmore's. But I could be biased because I do not like countertenors. Even being this the case, I like Mijanovic voice quite a lot though more androginous, and I liked her very much in her Caesar performance. I find Cornelia better represented in Bernarda Fink (J) than in Charlotte Hellenkant (M)-she is too wheezy for me, and though Marianne Rorholm (J)misses the words in the opening aria of Sesto, I find her more credible as Sesto than Anne Sofie von Otter. Sorry, because I like von Otter A LOT, but she's too on the lighter side when singing Sesto while Rorholm's voice conveys more character. I like best Magdalena Kozena's (M) voice as Cleopatra than Barbara Schlick, though the latter is the winner when it comes to expressivity. To my despair, there are also countertenors in the Jacob version... The two Ptolomeos are ok by me, since I don't like countertenors... Nireno, well, I couldn't say and I won't bother.
BUT THE BASSES!!! Well, Minkowski's choice is by far the better. Alan Ewing is a powerful Achilla in the whole range, and his lower notes are powerfull and audible as well (Aria Tu sei cor di questo core, for example), while Furio Zanasi (J) has the spirit but lacks the same power as Ewing, being compared in the same aria. Same could be said about the Curio character, Jean-Michel Ankaoua (M) surpasses Olivier Lallouette (J), though both of them are really good.
Don't get me wrong, it is really a tough choice. The ideal would be a mixture of both!!! Can you buy both?

Handel's "Giulio Cesare" is undoubtedly his masterpiece, the greatest Baroque opera ever written. It deals with both history and the complex feelings of its characters honestly, portraying them in music that exhibits the very height of the form.

Unfortunately, Baroque opera was all about singing alternating arias (and duets) in a mostly rapid fashion with lots of machine-like runs, trills, and staccato notes. This style went the way of the dinosaur with the later works of Gluck and the following operatic styles of Spontini, Berlioz and Verdi, all of which are far more popular today. Thus we have to make a tremendous "ear adjustment" in order to appreciate this style, which is even far more ornate than the operas of Cavalli and Monteverdi.

Within these contexts, however, the present cast and conductor give us a sturdy, powerful performance, spearheaded by the superb mezzo Jennifer Larmore as Caesar. This was only her second recording (the first was as Maddalena in the Telarc recording of "Rigoletto"), and it catapulted her to fame. The rest of the cast is very good within the confines of this style, and Rene Jacobs--himself an excellent countertenor turned conductor--leads his forces with spirited commitment.

The reason I only gave this recording 4 stars instead of 5 is because, to my ears, Jacobs' conducting is a tad metronomic, not as bad as Christopher Hogwood but not as fluid as William Christie or the remarkable Mark Minkowski. Minkowski's "Giulio Cesare," unfortunately, suffers from a sub-par performance by Ann Sophie von Otter that crucially mars the opera, so this is probably the best choice.

This production has the female soprano Jennifer Larmore in the main role as Giulio Cesare. Normally I find female sopranos singing original castrati roles annoying, but Jennifer Larmore quickly won me over. Her voice is NOT quite feminine, on purpose in this recording, I think so. With a bit of imagination we can hear her as is she was a real castrato singing there! When I saw her photo in the booklet I got surprised how a such delicate woman could sing so vigorous. In fact, all the singers are wonderful. The box, booklet and even the materials used in the making of the product are excellent.

There are two counter-tenors, Derek Lee Ragin(as Tolomeo) and Dominique Visse(as Nireno). The American singer Ragin, my favorite counter-tenor, is amazing! He sings 4 arias. The French singer Visse doens't sing any aria, but in the cd bonus(yes, this package is a 3 CD plus 1) there is an extra aria with his performance that I think is from another Handel's opera(there is no information about that in the booklet), his presence in recitatives is formidable, however. Rene Jacobs is brilliant and very perfect in his conduction of Concerto Koln orchestra.

It's very important to highlight here the aria "va tacito e nascosto" with Larmore. That's the second best version of this aria I have ever heard, that loses only to Jochen Kowalski(German counter-tenor). The horn that accompanies Larmore in that aria is divine. The recitatives, normally the things I dread, are full of variety, colour and invention, harp, harpsichord, and lute or viola da gamba, simply delightful!

To be technically perfect it would be necessary to have a counter-tenor(our modern castrati) in Cesare's role and another counter in Sesto's role, but even in the premiere performance of Handel's Giulio Cesare, while Cesare's role had been performed by a castrato - Francesco Bernardi (Senesino), Sesto's role had been performed by a woman - Margherita Durastanti!

Jacobs is very successful in making this a truly dramatic theatrical performance and not just a series of beautiful da capo arias. This is the complete opera without any cuts. Jennifer Larmore is miraculous as are Barnarda Fink and Derek Lee Ragin. This will probably remain the definitive recording of this opera for a long time.
Two very fine new recordings of this work have recently been made 1) by Petras on MDG, without any supersatrs, and 2)the recording of this year's Paris Pleyel Theatre production with Scholl and Bartoli to be released soon by Decca. These new recordings may have superceded this mythical recording by Jacobs. To be verified.Giulio Cesare Hwv 17

Durante mucho tiempo esta ha sido la version referencial de la obra de Haendel. Al escucharla una y otra vez yo personalmente cada vez le encuentro mas cosas mediocres. En absoluto estado de gracia indiscutible esta Jennifer Larmore, un Cesare de voz segura y portentosa. Bernarda Fink se encarga de ofrecer una Cornelia que es sencillamente insuperable: no se puede ser mas dramatica y tener voz mas bella al mismo tiempo. Insuperable. La cosa empieza bien, pero llegados a este punto empiezan los problemas con una Barbara Schlik que no puede con la tesitura de Cleopatra (sus problemas en el registro agudo son muy notorios), y con una Marianne Rolhom que resulta el colmo de la ridiculez, destrozando el papel de Sesto (completamente olvidable). Derek Lee Ragin tiene las notas para cantar Ptolomeo, pero su voz es de escaso atractivo, y con cambios de color en el registro. Furio Zanassi hace un Aquiles digno de tener en cuenta, lo mismo que el sensacional Nireno de Dominique Visse. La direccion de Rene Jacobs peca de poco original en los tempi, y demasiado lenta a veces; el barroco debe tener algo mas de chispa y un profesional como Jacobs deberia de saberlo. El Concerto Koln consigue un sonido de gran calidad.
Aunque esta version tiene autenticos puntos de excelencia, en conjunto es solo aceptable. Yo recomendaria elegir la version de Minkowski (Archiv, 2003) mucho mas equilibrada en conjunto que esta.

This, the first HIP recording of one of Handel's finest operas, is now already twenty years old but is in no sense showing its age. I'm sometimes wary of HIP practice but admire Jacobs' direction here; nothing is rushed but neither does this performance drag: the recitatives are giving proper weight and expressiveness and the music is especially well served by the peculiarly plangent, reedy qualities of the Concerto Köln, a baroque specialist band. The grainy horns in the last triumphal scene are especially striking.

This has long been my favourite Handel opera since I saw Janet Baker, Valerie Masterson and Sarah Walker sing the three main female roles superbly in English at the ENO. I subsequently treasured a poor tape recording made from a radio broadcast of the same performance but was pleased to acquire the CD box set when it appeared. While rather different from the set under review here, it nonetheless does honour to Handel, being performed with such verve and beauty of tone by three star ENO singers. I bought this Harmonia Mundi set some years ago principally because I knew that two such fine singers as Jennifer Larmore and Bernarda Fink would rival their ENO equivalents and I wasn't disappointed. Both have rich lower registers; Larmore makes as convincing a job of a castrato breeches role as is possible for a modern mezzo, although her slightly odd "cupped" tone is sometimes a little disconcerting, while Fink's stately beauty of voice is ideally suited to portraying the afflicted Cornelia.

However, I have to say that I cannot apply the same superlatives to the rest of the cast: Barbara Schlick's Cleopatra is ordinary of voice, rather shallow and cloudy of tone compared to the bell-like purity of rivals such as Masterson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Beverley Sills and Kathleen Battle; her lack of distinction is particularly evident when she is duetting with Larmore. The supporting cast is weak, featuring two woolly basses and a Sesto who is simply dire: wavery, all over the place in intonation and sorely taxed by anything vaguely florid. Derek Lee Ragin is adequate as Tolomeo - perhaps his uningratiating whine is apt for such an unpleasant character - but James Bowman for Mackerras is so much interesting and characterful, both vocally and dramatically. Nireno is sung by distinctive counter tenor Dominique Visse, who is given an extra aria written for the 1725 revival here included as an appendix - though in truth it isn't Handel at his most inventive. This is a full, complete critical edition by Jacobs, so you are missing nothing and he manages to weld it all together into a coherent drama.

Despite its virtues, for me this recording is not the paragon that some previous reviewers claim. As much as I enjoy some of it, it has too many weaknesses to be an automatic recommendation.