A Remarkable Giulio Cesare from Il Pomo d'Oro!

Yesterday, the series Elbphilharmonie LIVE livestreamed a spectacular concert performance of Handel's most popular opera - and my favorite, opera, Giulio Cesare in Egitto.

Francesco Cort  led his brilliant Baroque ensemble, Il Pomo d’Oro  in a reading that brought out every element of the complete score in a performance of almost four seamless hours that passed like a dream.  They have been touring Europe with the same cast headed by the much anticipated first performances of Jakub Józef Orliński in the title role.

Last night there was one major change:: Cleopatra, and I must admit disappointment Sabine Deviehle, whose Cleopatra I've heard and raved several years ago, would not be singing this performance.  In her stead, the always excellent French soprano Sandrine Piau would assume the role of the Egyptian Queen. As much as I have loved her in the past (she was, on more than one occasion, a stunning Semele), I've not heard about her much in recent years. Well, let me tell you, for someone who will be 61 years old in a few months, Ms. Piau's was a jaw droppingly beautifully, exquisitely sung Cleopatra. Ms. Piau looked splendid and sounded even better than that. Cleopatra's arias were dispatched with ease, each like a great jewel completing an exqisitely crafted necklace . . . or crown.

While the voice remains in remarkable shape, it is not as fresh as, say, Deviehle for the spectacular Théâtre des Champs-Élysées performances a few years ago, nor could or should it be. Sabine was 36 or 37, really just entering her zenith years (where she remains) while Sandrine was one of the first Baroque Soprano Superstars of the early 90's, collaborating frequently for performances and countless recordings with William Christie, Christophe Rousset, Hervé Niquet,  Emmanuelle Haïm, Marc Minkowski  and other leaders of the movement. But, at 60, the tone remains firm, the coloratura formidable, ornamentations dazzling, and the breath conrol of this singer - her ability to spin lines almost endlessly remains exquisite.  Add to that some twenty years with this role (I recall a glorious 2008 performance with René Jacobs)  adding here is a depth of - and insight into - this character that is uniquely dramatic.

I was excited - but also worried about Mr. Orliński's Cesare. The voice (for me) has always been on the brighter and lighter side of countertenors (not a complaint, I love the guy's sound), but my ideal interpreters have almost always been mezzos - for a number of reasons.  As I get older, I'm finding - unlike many of my friends - I'm  more accepting and even excited by, different ways and different voices presenting music that is so familiar we're often "locked in" to thinking it MUST be performed THIS way.  Must it?  In my now "senior years" I've grown to love performers and performances I would have turned my nose at twenty or thirty years ago, and finding, I'm happier. Sue me.  

Orlinski''s sound remains bright here, creating a more youthful sounding Caesar than history might dictate - but this isn't history, it's opera!  What helps him convince is there seems now to be an expansiveness to his sound - particularly in his rich lower register, that adds not just color, but purpsoe to the singing of the text. 

There are so many arias in this opera that I can't - or won't (at least here) go into any details of them, except to say there were none that disappointed, and I was glad for the inclusion of them all. (I think they were all in there, at least!)

The rest of the cast, Yuriy Minenko (Tolomeo), Beth Taylor (Cornelia)  Rebecca Leggett  (Sesto), Marco Saccardin (Curio), Alex Rosen (Achilla), and Rémy Brès-Feuillet (Nireno) each delivered performances that equalled - in drama, thrill, beauty and musicality - the two leads.  The singing all night - stunning enough that it was a pleasure NOT seeing sets and costumes and STILL getting the drama of Handel's masterpiece. 

Though I'm not mentioning the arias specifically, I will single out the duet, Son nata a lagrimar as one of the most powerful, and moving moments of the evening. Beth Taylor and Rebecca Leggett, as mother and son, completely took my breath away in delivering one of the most mournful, and touching expressions of grief in all of opera. 

Maestro Corti's impeccable musicianship, his shaping of the score and ability to coax a deliciously rich sound from his Il Pomo d’Oro players made for a sensational performance, and it is a joy to watch him bouncing from condcuting, to jumping down onto the harpischord , t hen back up again like an Olympic athlete.  

For anyone who loves Handel - and this opera in particular - I can't recommend this joyous, stunningly sung and played gem of a performance. Outstanding!