# Handel - Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17 Recordings



## JSBach85

Known as one of the best Handel Operas (if not the best). There are some interesting recordings out there. What is your favourite one?


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## Bulldog

I prefer Jacobs on Harmonia Mundi. It's a compelling and beautiful performance; also has Larmore and Fink to top it off.


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## Pugg

I do have this one:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/MDG/MDG6091604
Not a real fan though.


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## DarkAngel

Alan Curtis for Naïve label is my favorite


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## SixFootScowl

I have this one, but haven't listened to it much:
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/search.php?searchString=caesar+sills


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## ldiat

well i like the you tube version with Natalie Dessay as she runs around as Cleopatra in all her glory exposed:devil:


ps back to back remarks on the video..
1) she's disgusting﻿
2)This is also brilliant!Thanks!﻿


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## JSBach85

Bulldog said:


> I prefer Jacobs on Harmonia Mundi. It's a compelling and beautiful performance; also has Larmore and Fink to top it off.


It's exactly the recording I have :cheers:


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## JSBach85

Pugg said:


> I do have this one:
> 
> http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/MDG/MDG6091604
> Not a real fan though.


Pugg, this version is really interesting... Petrou is a great conductor but I am not sure about some of the vocal cast/soloists. Interesting, this recording has Emanuela Galli and Romina Basso. Let me to listen some samples.


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## DavidA

I have the Jocobs but haven't got round to listening to it properly yet


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## Pugg

JSBach85 said:


> Pugg, this version is really interesting... Petrou is a great conductor but I am not sure about some of the vocal cast/soloists. Interesting, this recording has Emanuela Galli and Romina Basso. Let me to listen some samples.


In any case, the recording is superb.


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## JSBach85

After listening some recordings I think is better to have at least a couple of them. Petrou sounds really good, good voice balanced and the orchestra is the best. If Jacobs would have recorded it again with Freiburger Barockorchester it would be better than the one with Concerto Koln. Soon I will listen some excerpts of Alan Curtis in Naive.


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## Vaneyes

What about DVD/Blu-ray?


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## Pugg

JSBach85 said:


> After listening some recordings I think is better to have at least a couple of them. Petrou sounds really good, good voice balanced and the orchestra is the best. If Jacobs would have recorded it again with Freiburger Barockorchester it would be better than the one with Concerto Koln. Soon I will listen some excerpts of Alan Curtis in Naive.


Spot on with this.:cheers:


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## JSBach85

Thank you for your recommendations. I am making a big effort and purchasing all those with period instruments. Finally I got Minkowski, Petrou and Jacobs (I finally purchased this one separately with its own booklet)

























I am also thinking about Curtis in naive. Good casting.


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## Pugg

> I am also thinking about Curtis in naive. Good casting.


Do a good search, they ( Naive) are no longer in the business of making records.


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## NishmatHaChalil

This is my favorite opera by Händel! His treatment of Cleopatra was exceptional. The only recordings I have listened to were Jacobs' with Concerto Köln, from Harmonia Mundi, and Leitner's transposed German version with the Munich Philharmonic, from Orfeo d'Or. I liked both.


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## Marinera

I'm listening to it right now

Minkowski!


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## Marinera

Florestan said:


> I have this one, but haven't listened to it much:
> http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/search.php?searchString=caesar+sills


The one I must get too, if only for Beverly Sills. Though I don't understand, is this full opera or just excerpts?


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## JSBach85

Marinera said:


> The one I must get too, if only for Beverly Sills. Though I don't understand, is this full opera or just excerpts?


Considering Giulio Cesare is about 4 hours this recording looks like excerpts.


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## JSBach85

Pugg said:


> Do a good search, they ( Naive) are no longer in the business of making records.


I didn't know about this. I guess this is the reason some orchestras/conductors are recording for Decca.


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## Pugg

Marinera said:


> The one I must get too, if only for Beverly Sills. Though I don't understand, is this full opera or just excerpts?


The time is not right on the Presto site, it's 74.12/70.23 on the back of the CD


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## hpowders

Marinera said:


> The one I must get too, if only for Beverly Sills. Though I don't understand, is this full opera or just excerpts?


I would caution against it....the performance is very old-fashioned...a lot of vibrato...but if you like that sort of thing....


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## Marinera

Pugg said:


> The time is not right on the Presto site, it's 74.12/70.23 on the back of the CD


Oh, alright, thanks Pugg. I thought maybe it was just downoads, and cd had more tracks.


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## Marinera

hpowders said:


> I would caution against it....the performance is very old-fashioned...but if you like that sort of thing....


Sills performance impressed me. I think, it was 'Da Tempeste'.


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## Pugg

Marinera said:


> Sills performance impressed me. I think, it was 'Da Tempeste'.


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## hpowders

Marinera said:


> Sills performance impressed me. I think, it was 'Da Tempeste'.


Good luck with that!!!


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## SixFootScowl

> Originally Posted by Marinera View Post
> The one I must get too, if only for Beverly Sills. Though I don't understand, is this full opera or just excerpts?





JSBach85 said:


> Considering Giulio Cesare is about 4 hours this recording looks like excerpts.


I would think more than excerpts. Perhaps just a pared down version?


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## hpowders

Marinera said:


> Sills performance impressed me. I think, it was 'Da Tempeste'.


Curious. Have you ever tried one of the HIP-inspired performances, such as the one conducted by Alan Curtis?

It is a terrific performance.


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## JSBach85

Pugg said:


> The time is not right on the Presto site, it's 74.12/70.23 on the back of the CD


From my recordings:

Jacobs / Concerto Koln (4 CDs): 72'57 + 78'04 + 73'56 + 18'28 ~ 243 min
Petrou / Orchestra of Patras (3 CDs): 75'50 + 78'48 + 77'23 ~ 230 min
Minkowski / Les Musiciens du Louvre (3 CDs): 75'51 + 80'25 + 63'02 ~ 218 min

144 min of that recording seems to be only an extract of the opera. Yet, I noticed that Minkowski is not enough comparing 218 min against 243 min of Jacobs recording.


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## JSBach85

hpowders said:


> Curious. Have you ever tried one of the HIP-inspired performances, such as the one conducted by Alan Curtis?
> 
> It is a terrific performance.


Really? I am tempted with that recording inspired by your words.


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## Bulldog

hpowders said:


> I would caution against it....the performance is very old-fashioned...a lot of vibrato...but if you like that sort of thing....


Vibrato isn't the only aspect of the Rudel version that is unacceptable. Those modern strings have the sour sound that drives me up the wall.


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## Pugg

Bulldog said:


> Vibrato isn't the only aspect of the Rudel version that is unacceptable. Those modern strings have the sour sound that drives me up the wall.


For me they are a relieve. :cheers:


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## Marinera

hpowders said:


> Curious. Have you ever tried one of the HIP-inspired performances, such as the one conducted by Alan Curtis?
> 
> It is a terrific performance.


Minkowski is HIP or isn't it? It sounds HIP to me.

I listened to several arias from Curtis cd yesterday, but I would like to listen to the full opera to be sure.And then few more times. Though I have to say Mijanovic is still my favourite Cesare from what I heard, but I have a great preference for her voice, and Larmore still would be my next choice. For further additions I collect from concert recordings like Alfred Deller's Alma del gran Pompeo and so on.
Curtis' Sesto was very nice, clear voice, but sounded a little less hot headed and bloodthirsty that von Otter in Svegliatevi nel core, I think, but still this was a very convincing young Sesto, really liked it. 
Managed to hear just one aria from Cleopatra tutto puo donna vezzosa. Good overall, but Barbara Schlick remains a favourite here. However not a favourite aria, Cleopatra is the smuggest fox in the whole Egypt and beyond there for my taste.
Needs more listening.


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## SixFootScowl

Awesome! Check out Lucia Popp as Cleopatra in Kommt das Schiff, vom Sturm zerschlagen 
(Act III, Scene 7). I think this is sung in German though.
Here are the clips.


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## Pugg

Florestan said:


> Awesome! Check out Lucia Popp as Cleopatra in Kommt das Schiff, vom Sturm zerschlagen
> (Act III, Scene 7).
> Here are the clips.


Like, like, like and guess what I just ordered 
€ 13.00 shipped.


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Like, like, like an guess what I just ordered
> € 13.00 shipped.


Good for you! I am sure you realized it is sung in German. You got a good release. I see it also on D'oro and the sound is not so good. Too bad because the D'oro is $12 shipped. The Orfeo release you got is running upwards of $26.


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## SixFootScowl

For Cleopatra freaks, here is a nice set and Sonia Prina is on a few tracks (must be Cesare):


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Like, like, like and guess what I just ordered
> € 13.00 shipped.


So can I buy a copy at the price you paid, or was that the last one? Or is it the place in Europe that has very high shipping to the USA? I don't know if I want it because I like contralto or mezzo for Cesare but Lucia Popp is enough to put me over the top on this one if the price is right. Notice Richter has slower tempo. I noticed that on his sung-in-German Messiah too.


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## SixFootScowl

Don't get this release as it is poor sound:









Of this one, an Amazon reviewer says,



> This recording is the same as Handel: Julius Caesar - only that, despite the image suggesting otherwise, the other one has been digitially remastered. We ended up being so disappointed by this version that we bought the other one too - and what a difference! Even though this one costs significantly less, it is still a waste of money. Unfortunately, both recordings have no libretto.


and a comment to that says,



> They all have been digitally remastered. The difference is that Orfeo is an official label for this recording and had the best possible source, a master tape, while this label probably lifted the music off some worn LP or radio broadcast. But you are right that the other one, Orfeo, is a much better sounding set, if somewhat expensive.


UPDATE: 
There is a third set available out there on Verona Records:









An Amazon reviewer says (my bold),


> I never thought that this recording could be still available, as Verona went bust many years ago. Good news for lovers of this wonderful opera, since the performance is spectacular, *the sound is very good*, and the price is right. One can buy this recoding on three labels: Orfeo, Opera D'Oro, and Verona. Opera D'Oro has the worst sound among the three, while Orfeo has the best. Orfeo is an official label of this recording and they used master tapes to create their set, but it costs about $50, so for the budget-concsious I would recommend Verona set. It sounds slightly worse than the Orfeo, but noticeably better than the Opera D'Oro.


So, given the Orfeo set is very expensive and the D'oro set is very poor sound quality, when I found this Verona set for only $11.17 on Amazon I grabbed it!

And even better, another reviewer of the Verona set says,


> Along with nearly four hours of Handel's music, the box comes *with an English-German libretto*


So three different releases...no there are four as an opera discography site says of Leitner's Biulio Cesare:


> Compact Disc; - Verona CD 27035/7 {3CDS}; Orfeo C 35194.3 {3CDS} (1994)ª; *Melodram* MEL 37059 {3CDS}; Opera d'Oro OPD 1192 {3CDS} (1999)ª


WARNING: After receiving the Verona set, I found it is no better than the D'oro set. Get the Orfeo set if you want good sound.


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## ldiat

Florestan said:


> For Cleopatra freaks, here is a nice set and Sonia Prina is on a few tracks (must be Cesare):


speaking of Natalie Dessay. guess she is not doing opera any more??!!


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## SixFootScowl

Florestan said:


> So can I buy a copy at the price you paid, or was that the last one? Or is it the place in Europe that has very high shipping to the USA? I don't know if I want it because I like contralto or mezzo for Cesare but Lucia Popp is enough to put me over the top on this one if the price is right. *Notice Richter has slower tempo. I noticed that on his sung-in-German Messiah too.*


Correction. Bold text part is wrong. Not sure why I was thinking Richter but it is Leitner for the Cesare set.


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## Pugg

Florestan said:


> So can I buy a copy at the price you paid, or was that the last one? Or is it the place in Europe that has very high shipping to the USA? I don't know if I want it because I like contralto or mezzo for Cesare but Lucia Popp is enough to put me over the top on this one if the price is right. Notice Richter has slower tempo. I noticed that on his sung-in-German Messiah too.


Mine was from Switzerland , I did see one at Amazon Germany, don't know about the shipping though.


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Mine was from Switzerland , I did see one at Amazon Germany, don't know about the shipping though.


I took care of it, found a different release of same with good sound and ordered it for $15 shipped. Is posted in latest opera purchases along with ... he he ... yet another one!


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## Vaneyes

ldiat said:


> speaking of Natalie Dessay. guess she is not doing opera any more??!!


Update:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/...-carnegie-hall-after-opera-left-her.html?_r=0

And we can enjoy some of the old days with Opera Chic. :tiphat:

http://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/natalie_dessay/


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## SixFootScowl

Just found an interesting recording but sound is a boxy and distant. Might be worth it for the cast though. Here are sound clips.


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## Pugg

Caballé singing Handel....I would be careful if I where you.


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Caballé singing Handel....I would be careful if I where you.


Thanks, but I am not buying this one. The sound is horrible. However, Caballe is not foreign to Baroque or Handel. This for example:








1. Ercole Sul Termodonte - Chiare Onde 2:04
2. Bajazut - Sposa Son Diprezzata 4:56
3. Griselda - Agitata Da Due Venti 2:31
4. Vieni, Vieni 2:29
5. Un Certo Non So Che 3:24
6. Rinaldo- Lascia Ch'io Pianga 5:11
7. Ezio- Ah, Non Son Io Que Parlo 6:10
8. Atlanta- Care Selve 2:58
9. Theodora- With Darkness Dee 4:12
10. Theodora- Oh That I On Wings Could 3:44
11. Jeptha- Leb Wohl, Leb Wohl 4:07
12. Ave Maria 6:02
13. Susceptit Israel 4:06


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## SixFootScowl

Interesting Review on the sung-in-German Giulio Cesare.


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## Pugg

Florestan said:


> Interesting Review on the sung-in-German Giulio Cesare.





> Popp is perhaps an ideal Cleopatra, most beautiful and fresh in tone with something appropriately charismatic about the voice-character, and sensitive to the developments of this woman whom Handel has invested with such fascinating life.


Can't wait for it to arrive. :angel:


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> Can't wait for it to arrive. :angel:


It is a wonderful performance even on the poorer sound quality release. Popp in very fresh voice:


> Lucia Popp, two years into her career after her Vienna debut,...


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