Handel: Giulio Cesare (Christie)

Introduction

Glyndebourne`s celebrated production of Handel`s opera filmed over 2 nights in August 2005, conducted by William Christie.

The opera was directed by David McVicar, who has cleverly transferred the action to what appears to be late 19th/early 20th century Egypt, when the British Empire was attempting to get its grips into North Africa, much like the Romans a couple of millennia beforehand.

Briefly, the storyline concerns a civil-war torn Roman Empire, which needs to take Egypt under its protective wing, and there is much intrigue, violence (extreme in one moment), and passion leading to the inevitable union between Caesar and Cleopatra.

Video

Visually, it`s rather good. The DVDs are presented in the usual NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic transfer, and this captures the fantastic stage lighting and set/costume colours perfectly.

Audio

The DTS sound is also superb, with no noticeable problems in balance at all, and even the sudden blaring of the baroque brass instruments is handled (no pun intended) well, and by all accounts, played much better than on the opening night.

Features

Extras come in the form of two films, the most interesting being `Entertainment is not a dirty word`, a 50 minute documentary by Ferenc van Damme which involves much discussion from all involved in the production, and a great insight into what has turned out to be an almost revolutionary way of staging Handel operas.

The second is a far slighter 20 minute film, `Danielle de Niese and the Glyndebourne experience`, but if you can get over the rather staged and cheesy aspect, this is quite charming in its way. De Niese certainly comes across as a lively, and, to be honest, utterly gorgeous young lady, which is obviously not lost on Gus Christie, who accompanies her around the grounds of the family estate in part of the film.

Conclusion

I have watched this a couple of times now, and although it`s a very long work (touching 4 hours) I can honestly say that I didn`t notice any weak links, either from the singers, or the orchestra.

There are some moments when the jolly dances from Cleopatra and her entourage become a bit silly (but by God, that girl can move!), and reaches into the realms of Arabian Nights, or as some others have said, Bollywood - I haven`t watched enough of those films so I can`t really comment. There certainly weren`t any dancing elephants, but that was probably down to the relatively small theatre, and huge insurance premiums.

Overall, Christie produces an amazing sound from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (ok, they produce the sound themselves, but his shaping and pacing of the music is extraordinary). I definitely have to give a special mention to Nadja Zwiener, the onstage violinist, whose duet with Caesar (`Se in fiorito`) is lovely, and a great example of how Baroque music can be just plain good fun.

The singing is just as good, with the lead role being played to perfection (surprisingly) by Sarah Connolly. I say surprisingly, as it was written for a castrato voice, but the choice of a mezzo-soprano instead is inspired. Connolly manages the huge range effortlessly, and looks as if she has studied being a man (for stage presence of course), as all femininity had been left in the wings.

Feminity is in abundance however in Cleopatra (Danielle de Niese), with a large smattering of sexual allure to go with it. When de Niese takes the stage, she takes everyone`s attention, and it`s a rare thing to have such a lovely voice and be able to act as well. Her final aria in Act II ,`Se pietá di me non senti` (If you feel no pity for me) has got to be one of the best things I`ve heard in years.

And the same goes for the rest of the cast (except perhaps I don`t fancy them quite as much).

Angelika Kirchschlager is quite spectacularly brutal (in a good way) as Sesto, and Patricia Bardon, who playes his mother, Cornelia, is very moving indeed.

Rachid Ben Abdeslam (Nireno), plays Cleopatra`s servant with high-campness, and almost brings the house down with his own dances during his show. Possibly a bit too over the top, but highly deserving of the applause at the end nevertheless.

Christopher Maltman (Achilla) comes to a violent end (the most shocking moment in an opera I`ve seen), but before that, creates a vivid and frightening character, matched nicely by Christophe Dumaux`s slimy Tolomeo.

There aren`t that many operas which you could recommend someone watch if they`re not familiar with the genre, but take the best bits of this show (with the same performers), travel around the regional theatres with it, and you can guarantee it will be successful. As it is, we have an almost perfect record of a couple of Summer nights in Sussex in someone`s back garden, but if anyone fancies donning dinner suits and posh frocks, they`re doing it all again this year.

One of the best.