# My First Baroque Opera



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Next Sunday I'm going to see Handel's GIULIO CESARE at Wolf Trap Opera (Virginia, USA). As you can tell from my username, I'm very familar with 19th-century bel canto opera, but this will be my first Baroque opera in the opera house. I've bought and am listening to a highlights disc taken from the GIULIO CESARE recording with Rene Jacobs conducting Jennifer Larmore, etc. (I would've liked to get the complete recording but can't afford it at the moment.) Can those members who are experienced Baroque-opera attendees give me some idea of what to expect while actually watching the opera -- e.g. how is it different from a 19th-century bel canto opera, about how many hours is it -- and also some opinions on GIULIO CESARE itself. Thanks.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> about how many hours is it


Depending on version used in the performance you will attend, either too many or way too many.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

What Aramis means is . . . well, let me start again.

Baroque opera is long, and can certainly seem so if you're not familiar with its conventions. For me, the biggest stumbling block in Handel has always been the profusion of _da capo_ arias, one after another. Of course, repetition presents an opportunity for vocal embellishments, along with a deeper, more considered insight into the dramatic situation the second time around. But it can still be tough going if you're accustomed to a post-Wagnerian, more propulsively forward-moving idiom.

Then again, if you're already a bel canto lover, you may not find Handel quite so far removed from what you're used to.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Giulio Cesare is one of the pinnacles of Baroque opera. You chose well. It is chock-full of the most gorgeous arias. Depending on the edition it's about four hours long.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Giulio Cesare in Egitto_ is great music, but can also be great fun!. Even for a Baroque novice. Take a look in youtube to this wonderful production from Glyndebourne:






You will spend around 3'5 to 4 hours plus intermissions.

Opera Seria (the subgenre to which _Giulio Cesare _belongs) can appear as just a long series of recitatives and arias (especially prominent is the aria da capo). But the intention is quite simple: the recitatives make the drama move forward, and the arias just present the emotions, the state of mind, of the characters, and are somehow 'suspended in time'. There are of course many examples in the opera, but pay attention to this beautiful example, the recitative "Alma del gran Pompeo" (this is accompagnato, used mainly in very dramatic situations, when the composer wanted to underline the situation using the orchestra, especially the strings, to reinforce the continuo. Secco recitative was the other option, where only the continuo, usually a harpshichord and cello or double bass, supported the singer):






where Cesare sings the funeral oration of Pompey. And then this splendid aria "Non è si vago e bello" follows:






For these examples you can see that the role of Cesare can be sung by countertenors or female voices. This is because, in Handel's own times, the protagonist was normally a castrato. In the Belcanto period this was already much in disuse, though we can find some examples, like in Meyerbeer's _Il crociatto in Egitto_. There are people that prefer countertenors in those roles, others that prefer the female voices, and others that enjoy using both. In the premiere the roles of Giulio Cesare, Ptolomeo and Nireno were sung by castrati. In your show at Wolf Trap, they will use a countertenor as Cesare, another one as Ptolomeo and a female as Nireno. If by any chance you don't like countertenors, please try to keep an open mind, and pretend you are back in the 1720s listening to Senesino. 

Indeed, _Giulio Cesare _is a fine, very fine, example of the codified world of Opera Seria. Not all Baroque is Opera Seria, so don't despair of Baroque even if you don't fully enjoy the performance. But as you are already a great fan of beautiful music, and beautiful singing, I bet you will fall in love with this opera.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks to all those who've contributed to my thread so far. I know that in this production, Cesare is being sung by a countertenor. I also suspect it will be more or less cut, as the performance doesn't start until 3:00 and they probably want to get everyone out of there before 7:00.

The music, or what I've heard of it, is indeed wonderful. In addition to the Rene Jacobs highlights disc, I have Larmore and Hye-Kyung Hong singing "Caro, bella" on their duets disc and a 1950 recording of Victoria de los Angeles singing "V'adoro, pupille."


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

This is, for me, the most exciting number of opera:






I thank Haendel he placed it at the beginning, otherwise it would be just drown in the ocean of da capo arias and at the time it would begin, you could only sigh "here we go again..."

GC has some gorgerous music for sure but I can't endure so much of the same over and over again for 3-4 hours. Amfortas says it's not that far from bel canto, I disagree - the variety in bel canto operas is miles ahead of baroque works, first of all it has arias, duets, ensambles while anything other than solo aria in Haendel is extreme rarity. Not to mention that even with as many repetative formal models as they have, even solo numbers by Rossidonibelli still have far more diversity in every aspect than baroque arias.


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## Philmwri (Apr 8, 2011)

Thank you for posting a video of Ewa Podles. She should be a household name but unforunately she's not.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I got back from GIULIO CESARE about two hours ago. Very impressive singing, clever production (set in and around a hotel lobby in Egypt -- sounds weird but it really worked). John Holiday and Ying Fang (Cesare and Cleopatra) are definitely two young singers to watch, also the countertenor who sang Tolomeo. Best of all, it wasn't boring (as I half-feared it would be).

Can anyone tell me why Handel conceived the role of Cesare for a countertenor (i.e. why did he think the countertenor voice the best one with which to characterize Caesar)? Was it because all male leads in operas of that time were countertenors? Also, does anyone know whether the original production of GIULIO CESARE in 1724 was done in "modern dress"?


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Glad you enjoyed it.

Have a look at the wiki article which includes an engraving of the production. Not exactly realistic Roman but not entirely modern dress either.

It wasn't written for a countertenor but for a castrato. These were the stars of the day so it was natural to write for them in order to attract the audience.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

I am getting into Baroque opera too, Handel in particular. I've heard some of his operatic music, and it is lovely. I think the first complete opera of his I am going to hear will also be Giulio Cesare.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I remember someone somewhere (maybe even on this site) saying high pitched voices were all the rage back then because melody comes off best at the top and the public was all about athletic singing, hence why castrati were favoured over other male voices.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Castrati were the performers of choice for 'Opera Seria'. 


The castrato is a male singer that was being castrated before his puberty. The objective of this operation was to prevent the normal evolution of the larynx, and in this way produce in an adult male the same tessitura of a female singer. Combined with extensive training, the final result was a tremendous lung capacity and breath control, associated with exciting top notes and extraordinary flexibility. Soon, they were the most famous and well paid singers in Europe. Instead of castrati, they were referred usually as 'musici'.

By early 18th century, most of the male protagonist roles in Opera were trusted to a castrato. This was due basically to aesthetic convictions (a preference for the high-pitched voices as a symbol of spirituality, of distinction), and also the musical demands of the "canto fiorito". 

'Opera Seria' was the ideal scenario for the castrati and some very famous singers like Nicolo Grimaldi (NICOLINI), Antonio Maria BERNACCHI, Francesco Bernardi (SENESINO), Giovanni CARESTINI, Gaetano Majorano (CAFFARELLI), or Carlo Broschi (FARINELLI) were dominating the operatic stage. The only exception was Paris, where they were not allowed to perform in Opera, though they could offer the occasional concert. 

By the 1740s there were growing concerns about the ethics of castrating young males to make them singers (we know the story of some important and famous castrati, but many of the children operated were not finally able to sustain a succesful career), and also 'Opera Seria' started its long decline. The castrato roles were little by little disappearing, until they were no more employed in the Opera stage, even if some of them were still performing for the Church, one of the latest being Alessandro Moreschi, the only castrato voice ever recorded, in 1902 and 1904, when he was still in his forties.

The roles written for castrati are now performed usually by mezzo-sopranos or, more recently, countertenors. Sometimes, they are also adapted for baritone or tenor.

We will never know for sure how the great castrati singers really sounded on stage, of course.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Taggart said:


> Glad you enjoyed it.
> 
> Have a look at the wiki article which includes an engraving of the production. Not exactly realistic Roman but not entirely modern dress either.
> 
> It wasn't written for a countertenor but for a castrato. These were the stars of the day so it was natural to write for them in order to attract the audience.


Right, castrato is what I meant to say.

In fact, the countertenor who sang Cesare had a rather feminine-sounding voice (as contertenors go), and it occurred to me while watching the opera that there are some mezzos -- Jennifer Larmore, for instance -- that sound, or can sound, more "masculine" than some countertenors do, if that makes any sense.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Most masculine mezzo acting-wise:


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> there are some mezzos -- Jennifer Larmore, for instance -- that sound, or can sound, more "masculine" than some countertenors do, if that makes any sense.


it makes sense, most mezzos worth their salt sound more masculine than most countertenors. I think these days it's only Fagioli and maybe Dumaux that give mezzos a run for their money in the chest department. I might be wrong and if I am, please all let me know about other countertenors with good low notes.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

i have to wait almost a year to see Vivaldi's Farnace.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> Most masculine mezzo acting-wise:


Is that Elena Garanca?


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

deggial said:


> it makes sense, most mezzos worth their salt sound more masculine than most countertenors. I think these days it's only Fagioli and maybe Dumaux that give mezzos a run for their money in the chest department. I might be wrong and if I am, please all let me know about other countertenors with good low notes.


The singer I heard as Cesare, John Holiday, had a good low register, but it didn't seem ideally connected to his middle register. But I think that's one of the hazards of the countertenor voice.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Bellinilover said:


> Is that Elena Garanca?


No, it is the wonderful Sarah Connolly in the best opera DVD in the world (actually it seems to be one you either love or hate):


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Giulio Cesare was the first opera I saw live when I was 12 or 13 years old, even if unfamiliar with the story or slightly wary of the length and amount of repetition (da capo arias) I found that I was very drawn in to the story and the action. Recitatives are fast paced, arias are long enough to effectively portray a character's thoughts, emotions and reactions, nothing is long winded or slow paced at all from what I can remember of it. Just as long as it's a good production with great acting!


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