Cleopatra, the opera!

Handel's 'Julius Caesar in Egypt' is a fairly faithful account of Caesar's Egypt adventures, according to historians. His librettists followed the known events. (Yes, apparently she did disguise herself as a servant to seduce him!) But history tends to focus on the extraordinary military exploits of Caesar. And as so often in Handel's work, his music and its portrayal of changing character is focused on the strong woman at the centre of that story. More about Cleopatra below - but first... about that opera!

Handel's 'Julius Caesar in Egypt'

It was then (1724) and is now, three centuries later, the most popular and most performed of Handel's huge opera output. The plot, like the history it dramatises, is complex. Handel puts more wicked humour into it than history did. And the pace is unremitting. Here's the abridged version from Wiki! [annotated by me].

Cesare, in pursuit of his enemy Pompeo, follows him to Egypt. Pompeo's wife Cornelia pleads with Cesare to spare her husband. He is about to grant her plea, when the Egyptians led by their boy king Tolomeo bring him the head of Pompeo. [Yes, it's a historical fact as is his response.] Cornelia and Pompeo's son Sesto vows to avenge his death. Tolomeo's sister [and historically also his wife] Cleopatra desires to depose her brother [husband] in order to become the sole ruler of Egypt. She joins Cornelia and Sesto in their plans for vengeance and entreats Cesare to aid her. Following her [disguised as 'Lidia' for seduction] overtures, Cesare falls in love with Cleopatra. Her brother [husband] attempts to assassinate Cesare, but he escapes. It is reported to Cleopatra that Cesare has drowned while in flight. [Famous aria as below] She is taken captive by her brother. Cesare, who has escaped drowning, enters to free his beloved. Tolomeo is slain by Sesto, because he forced himself upon Cornelia against her will. Cesare makes Cleopatra Queen of Egypt and returns to Rome [where of course - see Shakespeare - he is slain].

Full summary of roles and synopsis in Wiki here.

(But warning: for Glyndebourne, McVicar changed the structure of acts and scenes to suit the production - and it was changed again in 2024.)

This painting, by Pietro de Cortone, shows Caesar giving Cleopatra the throne of Egypt. (Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon).

Our production

We are watching the Glyndebourne production by David McVicar, 2005 . It's been repeated twice in subsequent years, but this is the original version, with Sarah Connolly (Giulio Cesare), Danielle de Niese (Cleopatra) and Patricia Bardon (Cornelia) with conductor William Christie and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Updating in this case meant rethinking the politics as well as the people.

As the Guardian reviewer put it, "Although the opera envisions imperialism as a political necessity, David McVicar's new Glyndebourne staging turns it into an examination of the British empire's messy legacy. It proves to be a divided piece of music theatre, hampered by extreme swings of style and tone. Uncertain whether to stage a big, crowd-pleasing show or something more dangerous, McVicar delivers an unsteady amalgam of political psychodrama and Bollywood musical.

McVicar's basic idea is to contrast the hypocrisy of imperialism with the psychological catastrophe that befalls its victims."

Here's Glyndebourne's presentation of "Va Tacito" - a mockery of diplomatic dramas in which Caesar dodges Tolemy's attempts to poison him. Sarah Connolly at her best. And here's " Caro! Bella!" a brilliant duet in which the two lover/monarchs sign up to a treaty which makes Egypt a vassal state of Rome ruled by Cleopatra.

Sarah Connolly and Danielle de Niese with trappings of empire, 2005

The Glyndebourne description? "Handel’s most popular opera, both in his lifetime and today, Giulio Cesare (1724) tells the story of the momentous meeting between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. But rather than paint it as a sprawling classical epic, Handel gives us a surprisingly intimate, human portrait of love, jealousy, revenge and desire. These are people first, rulers second."

Glyndebourne screened this version in 2020 during Covid - here's my blog then. A joy to revisit. (This review at the time described it very well!)

Handel's music

More than a decade after Rinaldo, this opera is orchestrated lavishly, as the music reaches further to Italian style arias. Handel was celebrating great castrati, particularly Senesino, whose portrayal of Caesar was famous.  Here's Andreas Scholl singing Caesar's attempt to seduce "Lidia". Compare with the "Lidia" of Danielle de Niese! Here's her aria,  'V’adoro, pupille'.

This is the Handel opera most inviting - even requiring - superb acting and witty presentation. "Va tacito", the mock-serious aria in which Caesar thwarts the attempt to assassinate him has invited brilliant presentations before Glyndebourne's (above). Here's my favourite - Graham Pushee for the Australian Opera. And my second favourite? Janet Baker sings it, even longer ago.

But Handel's arias for Cleopatra are superb, and most famous is “Piangerò la sorte mia” (I will lament my fate) in Act III - her cry of grief and fear when she believes Caesar is killed and her chances of ruling Egypt went with him. The words of the aria are here.) Here's Joyce DiDonato in concert, Bayreuth 2020. And do you have time to listen to a masterclass? Here she coaches fast-rising soprano Narea Son, in all the meanings and messages of that beautiful aria.

Cleopatra, Greek queen of Ancient Egypt

Here's a brief account of Caesar's exploits. And go here for a brisk interpretation of the wars and ambitions that took him to Cleopatra. If you want to brush up further on rival historians' accounts, Wiki offers many interpretations. But the internet is loaded with Cleopatra questions, the majority asking about her alleged beauty and particularly the size of her nose. She was Greek, not Egyptian. And she certainly didn't look like Elizabeth Taylor.

Cleopatra, the Greek queen of Ancient Egypt, as depicted by Heinrich Faust in 1876

Like Handel, however, we know little about the lady's looks. But we have far more imagery than he did, in the centuries since his opera, on film and internet.

Unlike Handel, you can go onto Mary Harrsch's University of Oregon page here to see a virtual reconstruction and sign in to talk to Cleopatra and for multiple images, including the one on right. The questions are hard to answer, because "Octavian Augustus, the first Roman emperor, ordered that all images of the queen be destroyed after he triumphed over Cleopatra and her ally and lover Mark Anthony in 30 BC."

As this article points out, " It was in Octavian's very best interest to present the civil war against his colleague, Antony, a respected Roman statesman, rather as a foreign conflict with the Egyptian queen. Painting Cleopatra as a beauty who had sexually seduced Antony and a witch who had cast a magic spell over him was not only meant to emasculate Antony or demean Cleopatra, nor did it simply cast her in the role of the frightening foreigner. Octavian's propaganda consciously refused to acknowledge her as the wealthiest and most powerful female sovereign of the Hellenistic Mediterranean."

More interesting are the interpretations of her intelligence and resilience in power. As this article argues, "When Caesar met Cleopatra, he was was 52 and had a wife back in Rome. But something about the 21-year-old Cleopatra caught his eye. Perhaps it was her charming banter and impressive mind. The ancient author Plutarch reports Cleopatra was an irresistible conversation partner, and fluent in nine languages."

As this article concludes, "In the centuries since her reign, the life of Cleopatra has captivated historians, storytellers and the general public. Her story resonates because of what she represented in such a male-dominated society; in an era when Egypt was roiled by internal and external battles, Cleopatra held the country together and proved to be as powerful a leader as any of her male counterparts."

Full opera on YouTube?

Yes there's a French production with English subtitles online: Gaëlle Arquez, Sabine Devieilhe and Franco Fagioli, in the new staging by Damiano Michieletto under the direction of Philippe Jaroussky. Recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in June 2022.

Lyn, 14/5/25