Less than 48 hours after a new production of “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” ended its run in the Hudson Valley, another “Cesare” took up the throne in New York City.
The timing was purely coincidental but not that surprising. Handel composed over 70 music dramas, yet only a handful are still performed regularly, and “Cesare” remains his most popular.
Each recent “Cesare,” though, had something distinct to offer its audiences. R.B. Schlather’s staging upstate was fashionably modern, with a liberal approach to the music. The concert performance in New York, presented by the English Concert at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, was made for faithful Baroque-ophiles: no risks, no frills, no excess.
Almost every season since 2013, the English Concert, led by its artistic director, Harry Bicket, has brought Handel’s operas and oratorios to New York. This ensemble sets a standard for Handel performance in the 21st century, in large part because of Bicket’s musicality and attention to detail. Like a good wine, this music is savored, not gulped. No interlude is rushed, no aria taken for granted.
Operas as concerts can be challenging, especially for a work with a four-hour running time, including two intermissions. Handel benefits from eye candy: flashy garb, elaborate scenery, routines with backup dancers — anything to keep hold of our attention. And yet if it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it. Carnegie was packed on Sunday, perhaps with people who just want good music performed well. The English Concert does that consistently.
To write “Cesare,” Handel and the librettist Nicola Francesco Haym drew from fictionalized accounts of the end of Julius Caesar’s civil war. After defeating Pompeo, Cesare follows his rival to Egypt. Cesare intends to grant clemency to Pompeo, who is assassinated anyway at the behest of Tolomeo, the king of Egypt. Personal vengeance, romantic conceit and cunning tomfoolery ensue in narratives that weave among eight characters.
Despite its themes of political corruption, murder and revenge, the opera has plenty of unserious moments, and on Sunday the English Concert punctuated its shtick. The head of Pompeo was offered to Cesare in a Macy’s shopping bag. During Act II, Cesare entered through the back of the house, took a seat and sang while bumping elbows with surrounding patrons. Tolomeo “died,” then stood up, lethal weapon in hand, and acknowledged the audience before sauntering off the stage.
All the singers were in fine form. The countertenor Christophe Dumaux, once the industry’s go-to Tolomeo, now sings the title role with regularity. His voice has richened, deepened, though not at the expense of his instrument’s trademark shimmer. As Cesare, he’s as stately as he is charming, relishing every facetious bit. (Honorable mention to the horn player Ursula Paludan Monberg, who hammed it up alongside him during the aria “Va tacito e nascosto.”)
The soprano Louise Alder was equally delightful. Her Cleopatra, who initially seeks to beguile Cesare only to develop a schoolgirl’s crush, was charismatic and fully realized, her voice sparkling like the diadem she donned in the final scene. The countertenor John Holiday was a nasty Tolomeo with a stylish approach to the music. Holiday navigated the role’s demanding shifts in register with grace, even when villainous.
Beth Taylor and Paula Murrihy, mezzo-sopranos singing the mother and son Cornelia and Sesto, were a forlorn duo. As Pompeo’s grieving widow, Taylor’s Cornelia gave a devastating meditation on grief. Her aria “Priva son d’ogni conforto” was among the concert’s highlights. Sesto, by contrast, channels his angst in a relentless quest to avenge his father’s death. Murrihy performed with impressive technical precision and restraint, at times too much to aptly capture the character’s juvenile bloodthirst.
The baritone Thomas Chenhall and the countertenor Meili Li made strong impressions in smaller roles: Chenhall with dulcet tones that sweetened Curio, and Li’s crystalline timbre as Nireno deftly suited for Handel. Perhaps no other character in “Cesare” suffers interpersonal betrayal at Tolomeo’s hands more than Achilla. This role is hardly sympathetic, but Morgan Pearse’s portrayal was, particularly during his death scene.
Still, “Cesare” is entertainment. On the train ride home, I overheard two people discussing the performance. “Everyone on that stage looked like they were having so much fun,” one said. I agree.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Performed at Carnegie Hall, Manhattan.
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