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.