GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO at La Monnaie / De Munt

The rulers of two empires in one of the greatest love stories of classical times - Caesar and Cleopatra! This is the story Handel turned to in the composition of what is perhaps his most successful opera. It is staged here by the American director Lydia Steier, who has demonstrated her skill with opulent baroque material on many occasions. The musical director is the acclaimed baroque specialist Konrad Junghänel.

Egypt, 48 BC: The campaign against his opponent Pompey has led Julius Caesar to North Africa. Here he becomes involved in a struggle for power within the Egyptian royal house, where Cleopatra – the firstborn – is forging plans to overthrow her brother Ptolemy, who is on the throne at present. A complex struggle for power ensues, during the course of which the great love is kindled. In the end Cleopatra emerges victorious from the battle with her brother. But she places the Egyptian Empire under the protection of the master of her heart: Julius Caesar.

While the plot itself may fail to satisfy present demands for historical accuracy, the opera is simply outstanding in terms of masterful musical invention and the theatrical force of its libretto. The psychology of the characters is firmly rooted in the emotional range expressed by the protagonists in their arias. This gripping stratification of erupting emotions lends the characters spiritual depths which draw us straight into the events in both musical and contextual terms.