We left at the interval...

ONP Paris Garnier, Monday February 12 2024 Conductor: Harry Bicket. Production and Costumes: Laurent Pelly. Sets: Chantal Thomas. Lighting: Joël Adam. Giulio Cesare: Gaëlle Arquez. Cleopatra: Lisette Oropesa. Sesto: Emily D'Angelo. Cornelia: Wiebke Lehmkuhl. Tolomeo: Iestyn Davies. Achilla: Luca Pisaroni. Nireno: Rémy Brès. Curio: Adrien Mathonat. Orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris. Unikanti Chorus. Photos: Vincent Pontet/ONP This Cesare is a reprise of Laurent Pelly's 2011 production, which I wrote about at the time. For a description of his staging, click through here and scroll down to 'The production is a new one, by Laurent Pelly.' Having seen it again this week, I feel less positive about it than I did at the time. But (a little bit) more of that later. So now, all I have to do is write about the musical aspects. I have, however, an impediment. In the first act, every time Emily d'Angelo sang, her voice came with what in French would be called a '...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Wednesday May 11 2022. Conductor: Philippe Jaroussky. Production: Damiano Michieletto. Choreography: Thomas Wilhelm. Sets: Paolo Fantin. Costumes: Agostino Cavalca. Lighting: Alessandro Carletti. Giulio Cesare: Gaëlle Arquez. Cleopatra: Sabine Devieilhe. Sesto: Franco Fagioli. Cornelia: Lucile Richardot. Tolomeo: Carlo Vistoli. Achilla: Francesco Salvadori. Nireno: Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian. Curio: Adrien Fournaison. Ensemble Artaserse. Photos: Vincent Pontet I no longer have a subscription at the TCE, having decided, after several years there, it hadn't been good value for money. But an opera expert I know said he thought the cast of this Giulio Cesare was 'intriguing' and a friend who's a Händel fan wanted to see it, so along I went with him. I guess what was 'intriguing' about it was the mix of vocal stars with others already  marked out as promising, and Jaroussky conducting a staged opera for the first time from the pit. T...

ONP Palais Garnier, Tuesday February 1 2011 Conductor: Emmanuelle Haïm. Production and costumes: Laurent Pelly. Sets: Chantal Thomas. Lighting: Joël Adam. Giulio Cesare: Lawrence Zazzo. Cornelia :Varduhi Abrahamyan. Sesto: Isabel Leonard. Cleopatra: Natalie Dessay. Tolomeo: Christophe Dumaux. Achilla: Nathan Berg. Nireno: Dominique Visse. Curio: Aimery Lefèvre. Orchestra of the Concert d'Astrée, Chorus of the Opéra National de Paris. I thought this midnight exchange of e-mails after Giulio Cesare might, as it sums up my first impressions, do as a start to my write-up: Friend : So how was it? Dessay finally on form? Me : My first thought: very good cast in theatre too big for them. I.e. not voiceless wonders à la Christie at all, but Garnier too big - and the production didn't help, with them often singing from the middle (i.e. not the front) of the stage with no sets behind. Second thought: to me, Haim takes too many liberties with the score, yet at the same time, overall, ...

La Monnaie, Brussels, Sunday February 3 2008 Conductor: René Jacobs. Production: Karl-Ernst & Ursel Herrmann. Sets, costumes and lighting: Karl-Ernst Herrmann. Giulio Cesare: Lawrence Zazzo. Cleopatra: Danielle de Niese. Tolomeo: Tania Kross. Cornelia: Christianne Stotijn. Sesto: Anna Bonitatibus. Achilla: Luca Pisaroni. Nireno: Dominique Visse. Curio: Lionel Lhote. Freiburger Barockorchester. Am I getting too picky in my old age? My neighbours enjoyed this production a lot; I enjoyed it a lot less. For a start, in this work the comic and serious elements are finely balanced but directors persist in overemphasising the former to the detriment of the latter. I'm getting a bit fed up with that. And then, I found the aesthetic of this production too designer-trendy and self-conscious, much as my neighbours enjoyed it. But I really wanted to start by wondering just how much better Luca Pisaroni can get. He was noticeably good in Alcina , better still in Don Giovanni , and now... It...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Friday October 20 2006 Conductor: Christophe Rousset. Production: Irina Brook. Giulio Cesare: Andreas Scholl. Cleopatra: Rosemary Joshua. Cornelia: Sonia Prina. Sesto: Alice Coote. Tolomeo: Franco Fagioli. Achilla: Mario Cassi. Les Talens Lyriques. This production has had very mixed reviews; perhaps it was because it was such a mixed bag. Let’s start with what looked on paper like a dream cast. They certainly weren’t a nightmare; in fact, they were very nearly very good indeed. But somehow the evening lacked real thrills. Best of all was Alice Coote as Sesto (so this is the second time this season that Sesto has come out on top, the first being with Elina Garanca in La Clemenza di Tito ). Apart from having a very fine voice (and leaving aside some hesitation over the highest notes), she seems to transcend “mere” acting to project genuine feeling – leading to some odd audience behaviour: a loud clap at the end of the first section of a da capo ...