The Met: Live in HD Broadcasts GIULIO CESARE in Local Theaters Today

The Met: Live in HD will broadcast David Daniels and Natalie Dessay as Caesar and Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare, transmitted live to your local movie theater today, April 27 at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT (find local theaters: U.S. International). THE MET: LIVE IN HD

David Daniels and Natalie Dessay star in David McVicar's innovative production of Handel's most popular opera in the final live transmission of the 2012-13 Live in HD season.

The staging, a hit at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2005, comes to the Met for the first time with its clever blend of dramatic storytelling and witty touches, including extensive choreography by Andrew George. Baroque specialist Harry Bicket leads an extraordinary cast that also includes Alice Coote in the trouser role of the Roman youth Sesto, Guido Loconsolo as the scheming Egyptian general Achilla, John Moore as the Roman general Curio, and three stars of McVicar's original Glyndebourne production: Patricia Bardon as the Roman widow Cornelia, Sesto's stepmother; Christophe Dumaux as Tolomeo, Cleopatra's brother and co-ruler; and Rachid Ben Abdeslam as the Egyptian servant Nireno. Soprano Renée Fleming hosts the transmission and conducts backstage interviews with the stars.

(Running time: approximately 245 minutes, including two intermissions.)

COMING SOON: SUMMER HD ENCORES - Titles and dates for the 2013 Summer HD Encores series will be announced April 26. Visit metopera.org/hdlive for more information or to order tickets.

Pictured: Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra and David Daniels as Julius Caesar in Handel's "Giulio Cesare." Photo Credit: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera; taken during the rehearsal on April 1, 2013 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.