Handel's version of Caesar...

[fajrdrako]

I got another Julius Caesar thing out of the library: this time, a DVD recording of an opera by Handel called Julius Caesar. I'd never heard of it. I'd expect it to be based on Shakespeare; it isn't, it's about Caesar in Egypt.

Lots of surprises. It's sung in English, which wasn't a suprise, but then I learned it should have been, since Handel wrote it in Italian. Opera is so confusing.

And Julius Caesar's role is played by a woman, Janet Baker. I realized why when I read the packaging: Handel wrote the role for a castrato singer, and I guess they're hard to find these days. Well, personally I like the switch, though it's a little strange, since I can't think of too many historical figures more masculine than Julius Caesar.

Good music, too.

Maybe if I watch it a few more times I'll have the story figured out. I was looking for a website with a synopsis, but couldn't find one. Persecuted women and a son out for revenge... Great fun. Wild costumes. Funny where a pursuit of Caesar - or of opera - leads me.

Comments

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Yup, not very many castrati singers available in this day and age [!!]. But I simultaneously wonder why they who staged it did not seek out a countertenor, for some countertenors I've listened to do sound strikingly like the castrato singer I have heard, that thanks to an Edison wax cylinder... wonder that, and applaud them for making it a trouser role. But, indeed, interesting that it was written for a castrato in the first place.

You might want to stop by (or phone) After Stonewall and inquire about a book I saw there in September, but could not get at the time: Handel as Orpheus: Voice and Desire in the Chamber Cantatas, by Ellen T. Harris, which might have some light to shed on why he wrote Julius Caesar for a castrato. Now, I'm intrigued too! Thank you for the delightful mystery.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, why did he make Caesar a castrato part? My guess is that he wrote it for a specific singer (Farinelli?) with a particular sound in mind. As to why the English Ntional Opera didn't look for a countertenor, I don't know - casting choices can be either complicated or arbitrary.

There were still castrato singers around in the 20th century? I am surprised.

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

What? They couldn't find a castrato? Hmph. Actors! They're supposed to give themselves to the role!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah - whatever happened to dedication to one's art?

[acampbell.livejournal.com]

I had heard of this opera, but I've never heard it. Didn't know Caesar was a female role.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Apparently it isn't always. I've looked it up online and have seen recordings that had men doing Caesar's role. According to the comments, the one with Janet Baker - the one I'm listening to - is better.

[acampbell.livejournal.com]

Kind of like the difference between a male and female Nicklausse!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! In each case, an intrinsically very masculine role gets transformed, with no detriment to the story.