George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17 Giulio Cesare: Christophe Dumaux
Curio: Thomas Chenhall
Cornelia: Beth Taylor
Sesto: Paula Murrihy
Cleopatra: Louise Alder
Nireno: Meili Li
Tolomeo: John Holiday
Achilla: Morgan Pearse
The English Concert/Harry Bicket
rec. 2025, All Saints Church, East Finchley, London
Booklet with the Italian libretto and an English translation included
Linn Records CKD792 [3 CDs: 231]
George Frideric Handel composed Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17, a three-act dramma per musica (opera seria), to a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on a text by Giacomo Francesco Bussani. First performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket, London on 20 February 1724, the opera was an immediate success. Handel revived it with various changes in 1725, 1730, and 1732. Not only is Giulio Cesare among Handel’s greatest operas, it is one of the most important by any composer owing to its high musical and literary value. There is not a dull moment in the entire opera.
The latest addition to the discography, directed from the harpsichord by Harry Bicket, has much to commend it, especially its presentation of the complete score for Giulio Cesare’s initial performances in 1724. Drawing from over a decade’s experience before making the present studio recording, Bicket leads a meticulously crafted performance. The pace is consistent with speech, so that there is plenty of drama and momentum, as well as opportunity to savour the music and the sung text.
The 30-member English Concert plays with flair, enthusiasm, and flexible, unforced tempi: the continuo instruments propel the action along and slow down to luxuriate in the reflective arias. In addition to clean articulation and elegance, Bicket infuses the music with energy, a through-line, and rhythmic buoyancy in which the inner voices and bass lines come through clearly. Blessedly free of mannerisms and eccentricities, there are sufficient vocal and instrumental embellishments to add colour and variety to the proceedings.
As the (historically inaccurate) eponymous hero, the countertenor Christophe Dumaux exhibits clear, precise phrasing and florid, unostentatious coloratura, and he ornaments the vocal lines tastefully without overindulging. My impression of Dumaux on the present recording is consistent with his appearance as Cesare at the Salzburg Festival in August 2025 in that he conveys the Roman emperor’s psychological states, which encompass compassion, pensiveness, and valour. The tender third-act aria, ‘Aure, deh, per pietà’, attests to how well Dumaux characterises Cesare emotionally.
Mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor portrays a tragic Cornelia, who grieves the loss of her husband, Pompey, and fears being overcome by Tolomeo while she and her son, Sesto, are in captivity. Taylor extends her voice down to reach notes in the alto range. A further mezzo-soprano, Paula Murrihy, sings a sympathetic Sesto, who is determined to avenge the death of his father and rescue his mother. Baritone Thomas Chenhall takes the small role of Curio.
On the Egyptian side, soprano Louise Alder is a regal, sovereign Cleopatra, who sounds much more like a leader than her puerile, spiteful brother, Tolomeo, who is depicted by countertenor John Holiday as a passive-aggressive, inept king. Alder expresses absolute despair in Cleopatra’s third-act aria, ‘Piangerò la sorte mia’. Baritone Morgan Pearse is a strong Achilla, who defects to the Romans when Tolomeo denies him access to Cornelia, the woman he desires. Countertenor Meili Li is Nireno, a confidant and servant to Cleopatra.
Linn Records fits the entire opera onto three generously-filled CDs in a slim box with a booklet containing the Italian/English libretto and an essay by David Vickers. The sound quality is crystal clear and present to a degree that the performance sounds like it is in the room with me. I enjoy this recording and recommend it as an excellent introduction to the opera.
Distinguished period-instrument predecessors include René Jacobs (1991), who also offers the uncut 1724 score. Concerto Köln’s vivacious, adventurous, yet impeccable, playing enthrals for four hours. Jacobs’s recording has a sense of theatricality and very fine singers, including mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, who made Cesare’s virtuosic semiquaver runs exact and powerfully rhythmic.
Decca could rescue the audio portion of the 2012 Salzburg staging from the DVD/Blu-ray format in which it is embalmed by publishing it on CDs with a booklet containing the full libretto. Countertenor Andreas Scholl was an incomparable Cesare with peerless vocal agility and enormous power, while Cecilia Bartoli’s Cleopatra exuded vulnerability and supreme authority. When I saw this production at the Salzburg Festival in August 2012, I was impressed by Dumaux as Tolomeo, a role ideally suited to his voice. Giovanni Antonini conducted Il Giardino Armonico in an iridescent performance. This would be the true reference recording.
Daniel Floyd
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