‘Giulio Cesare’ at The Met ó Two Views

Sex and Politics, ‡ la Caesar and Cleopatra
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI [NY Times, 9 April 2007]
The Metropolitan Opera has a big impediment to producing Handel operas: its enormous auditorium. Both ìRodelinda,î which the Met first mounted in 2004 starring RenÈe Fleming, and ìGiulio Cesare,î which opened on Friday in a revival of a staging by John Copley introduced in 1988, were originally presented by Handel in the Kingís Theater in London, which seated just 850. In principle the Metís 3,700-seat house is way too big for early-18th-century opera. Some of the most ravishing moments in ìGiulio Cesareî are pensively lyrical arias accompanied by only a small complement of continuo instruments.
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Giulio Cesare, Metropolitan Opera, New York
By Martin Bernheimer [Financial Times, 9 April 2007]
There wasnít much drama onstage when the Metropolitan had its oh-so-tasteful way with Handelís Giulio Cesare on Friday. There was plenty of drama backstage.
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image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/caesar_bust.jpg
image_description=Giulio Cesare