GIULIO CESARE: HÄNDEL OPENS THE OPERA SEASON AT TEATRO ALIGHIERI IN RAVENNA

A metaphysical space, tinged with the golden hues of Egypt’s sands, precious metals, and the enigmatic faces of pharaohs’ masks: this is how Chiara Muti envisions the new production of Händel’s Giulio Cesare. Following Tamerlano in 2023 and the Autumn Trilogy of 2024, the fruitful collaboration with Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone continues, bringing the melodramatic repertoire of the 17th and early 18th centuries—less frequently performed than that of later periods—back to the Teatro Alighieri stage.

The role of Giulio Cesare has been entrusted to Raffaele Pe, while Cleopatra is portrayed by Marie Lys. Delphine Galou takes on the role of Cornelia, the wife of Pompey, while Tolomeo, Cleopatra’s brother and rival for the throne of Egypt, is played by Filippo Mineccia. Completing the cast are Davide Giangregorio as Achilla, Federico Fiorio as Sesto, Andrea Gavagnin as Nireno, and Clemente Antonio Daliotti as Curio. The set design is by Alessandro Camera, with costumes by Tommaso Lagattolla and lighting by Vincent Longuemare. After its debut in Ravenna, the new production will tour the co-producing theaters in Modena, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Lucca, and Bolzano.

“Giulio Cesare is an opera everyone should know because it perfectly merges history and myth and achieves the ultimate harmony between music and theater,” says Ottavio Dantone, who will conduct Accademia Bizantina from the harpsichord. “Händel’s masterpiece captivates with its remarkable variety of timbres and colors: harp, theorbo, viola da gamba, oboes, flute, and horn enrich the orchestra, accompanying the multifaceted characters. The musical content, rich in imagery and extraordinary evocative power, immerses us directly into the story as if we were living it ourselves.”

The Baroque Caesar is “a symbol of marble-like justice and temperance,” notes Chiara Muti. “He is unambiguous, dehumanized to glorify, in the apotheosis of Rome, the virtues of an enlightened monarch,” namely George I and the new Hanoverian dynasty, whom Händel intended to honor with the opera premiered at the King’s Theatre in London in 1724. “Thanks to the intensity of the vocal lines and the chromatic dynamism of the orchestra,” the director adds, “Händel redeems the static nature of the action and enriches the characters with meaning. By delving into the human condition and revealing its complexity and contradictions, he gives us moments of such emotional tension that we can say he achieved with music what Shakespeare achieved with words. The direction, enhanced by the melody, yields to a symbolic and evocative dimension.”