Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great production from the 80s..., June 3, 2002
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Performances; Miserable Video, December 17, 2004
The plot line has been amputated to fit on the disk. Even so, the production gives you short weight. If you don't know the plot in advance, you'll have a tough time making any sense of the last act.
Voices are fine, though Masterson's soprano is so light that it tinkles when it should sparkle. Cleopatra, after all, is a fearless schemer and not a dimwit soubrette or bobby-soxer.
Major complaint is the video. Production is badly lit throughout; lighting flicks on and off almost randomly Colors blotchy and have a tendency to fade altogether or resolve into little color patches that twinkle into view and then disappear. Dark costumes melt into somber backgrounds, creating endless swaths of somber tones from one side of the screen to the other. This is the second DVD of this opera I have purchased, feeling that the first might have been a factory reject. Because both exhibit the same irritating defects, I have to conclude that the quality control staff was out to lunch during production and editing. Pity, because this kind of sloppiness mars what otherwise would have been a memorable performance.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dame Janet came, sang, and conquered, October 3, 2003
This is an amazing performance of Handel's "Julius Caesar." I have three video/DVD versions, now and on the other two men sing the title role. However, Dame Janet Baker is absolutely the best Caesar of the lot. Her singing and acting just blew me away. I don't know how this happened, but this DVD is the first opportunity I've had to hear and see her perform. Her soliloquy on great Pompey's soul is worthy of a Shakespearean Hamlet. Distinguished Handel expert Charles Mackerras leads the English National Opera in this English translation of "Julius Caesar." Ptolemy is sung in a splendidly sinister fashion by countertenor James Bowman, who has made over 180 recordings in his career (and not just Baroque music). He's got one of the best sneers in the business and really makes one wish he didn't have to be killed off-stage. Valerie Masterson as Cleopatra has the requisite trills and oodles of presence and gorgeous costumes. She reminds me a little of Beverly Sills, except for a tendency to flat Cleopatra's upper reaches, and a few notes of tin rather than silver. Mezzo Sarah Walker sings a deeply moving Cornelia, wife of the late, great Pompey. Her "Grief and woe all hope deny me" is Handel at his most heartrending, and she sings it simply and poignantly. I can only wish she had been allowed to sing this aria and others in their entirety. Versatile Welsh mezzo Della Jones sings the trousers role of Cornelia's son, Sextus. Her duet, "I was born to weep" with Sarah Walker is a highlight of this DVD--except for the technical grumble that the music is slightly out of synch with the video in this scene. Bass John Tomlinson (who sang the Dutchman at this year's Bayreuth Festival) is a masterful Achilla. I vote for him as the Achilla I least wish to die. He is one of those rarest of basses who can also sing coloratura. This website also sells a Chandos CD version of this production. Call it eccentric and not true to Handel's choice of language (Italian). I don't care. This is one of the first productions to match the original vocal scoring of the two castrato roles, sung here by countertenor James Bowman and Dame Janet Baker. Even though the DVD has been shortened to 180 minutes (the René Jacobs "Giulo Cesare" CD set runs to over 225 minutes), this is a performance of Handel's eleventh Haymarket opera that you will cherish.
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