Spring 2025 brings to New York two contrasting variations of Giulio Cesare, Handel’s hottest work: The English Live performance brings it to Carnegie Corridor (in addition to a number of different venues) in live performance, whereas R. B. Schlather phases it in his persevering with Handel cycle at Hudson Corridor. As a preview Chris’s Cache presents a uncommon pirate recording that includes Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl, and Les Arts Florissants.
After Bartoli sang her first Cleopatras in Zurich in 2005, she waited a number of years to strive it out once more. In February 2011, two performances had been scheduled for the Salle Pleyel in Paris marking the primary time the mezzo would collaborate with William Christie’s group in an entire opera. (That they had carried out not less than one live performance collectively earlier than then.) She and Christie had labored collectively in Zurich on Seneke in 2007 however the orchestra was that opera firm’s resident period-instrument ensemble La Scintilla. I heard Bartoli as Semele on the Pleyel later in 2011 with La Scintilla however the oratorio was performed by Diego Fasolis.
Rumors on the time circulated that the Giulio Cesare live shows would turn out to be the premise for a industrial recording, however that didn’t come to move. Some advised that Les Arts Florissants wasn’t as much as the job which appears odd given the group’s sterling observe document. Maybe Bartoli didn’t see eye-to-eye with Christie as a number of years later she appeared in a staging on the Salzburg Whitsun Competition, once more with Scholl as her Cesare; it could be videotaped and launched on DVD.
Demand was so excessive for tickets in Paris {that a} third efficiency was scheduled and an in-house recording of that GC is what we hear at the moment. The foremost distinction is that Philippe Jaroussky who had sung Sesto within the earlier Paris pair was unavailable so his place was taken by the fantastic Anna Bonitatibus who had appeared with Bartoli in Zurich. Jaroussky’s Sesto, nevertheless, may be heard and seen within the Salzburg video the place his besieged mom was performed by Sara Mingardo. In Paris, Nathalie Stutzmann was Cornelia.
Christie performed Giulio Cesare on the Glyndebourne Competition within the famed David McVicar manufacturing that subsequently got here to the Met. Up to now, nevertheless, Christie has not tackled Cesare once more along with his personal group.
2025’s 12 months of Giulio Cesare continues on the Salzburg Competition this summer time when Dmitri Tcherniakov mounts the work with Christophe Dumaux (lastly shifting up from Tolomeo and who can also be showing within the title position with The English Live performance) and Olga Kulchynska, the Met’s present Susanna, as Cleopatra. By the best way, Salzburg’s Achilla shall be Andrey Zhilikhovsky who’s scheduled to be the Met’s Figaro in its upcoming HD of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Cleopatra: Cecilia Bartoli
Cornelia: Nathalie Stutzmann
Sesto: Anna Bonitatibus
Giulio Cesare: Andreas Scholl
Tolomeo: Christophe Dumaux
Nireno: Rachid Ben Abdeslam
Achilla: Umberto Chiummo
Curio: Andreas Wolf
Les Arts Florissants
Conductor: Willia Christie
Salle Pleyel
14 February 2010
In-house recording
Giulio Cesare may be downloaded by clicking on the icon of a cloud with an arrow pointing downward on the audio participant above and the ensuing mp3 file will seem in your obtain listing.
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