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| Handel: Giulio Cesare – Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Louise Alder – Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photograph: © Richard Hubert Smith) |
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto; Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Louise Alder, Beth Taylor, Svetlina Stoyanova, Cameron Shahbazi, director: David McVicar, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Laurence Cummings; Glyndebourne
28 June 2024
Almost 20 years outdated, McVicar’s iconic manufacturing returns as vivid and vibrant as ever, with excellent performances from a younger solid
Amazingly, David McVicar’s manufacturing of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne will probably be 20 years outdated subsequent 12 months. It debuted in 2005, with Sarah Connolly and Danielle de Niese, returning in 2006 (with David Daniels and Danielle de Niese) and in 2009 (with Sarah Connolly and Danielle de Niese). Now, after one thing of a spot, it’s again as vivid and vigorous as ever with a younger new solid.
We caught the second efficiency of the 2024 revival of David McVicar’s manufacturing of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne on Friday 28 June 2024. Giulio Cesare was Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen [who was David in Handel’s Saul at Komische Oper Berlin in 2023, see my review], Cleopatra was Louise Alder [who sang the title role on Arcangelo’s recent recording of Handel’s Theodora, see my review], Cornelia was Beth Taylor, Sesto was Svetlina Stoyanova [who was Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina at Glyndebourne in 2022, see my review], Tolomeo was Cameron Shahbazi [who was Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha at Covent Garden in 2023, see my review] and Achilla was Luca Tittoto [who sang Saul at the Komische Oper], with Thomas Chenhall as Curio and Ray Chenez as Nireno. Laurence Cummings performed the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Units have been by Robert Jones, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, choreography by Andrew George.
The manufacturing takes an admirably expansive view of what’s really a really lengthy opera with a primary act lasting simply shy of 90 minutes and, accurately, two intervals, not one of the arias is trimmed, Nireno bought his aria and Achilla bought each of his. The second interval is, nonetheless, positioned after Cleopatra’s ‘Se pietà’, with the scene for Tolomeo, Cornelia, Sesto and Achilla opening the third half.
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| Handel: Giulio Cesare – Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen – Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photograph: © Richard Hubert Smith) |
The manufacturing units the motion within the context of the British Raj, which supplies a agency underpinning for the drama with out the necessity for intensive again historical past, although Brigitte Reiffenstuel’s costumes, notably for Cleopatra are quite extra playful. Robert Jones’ units may appear lavish however they’re enormously responsive and scene modifications occurred easily and simply, with no awkward waits and solely a few makes use of of the drop curtain. This has the admirable impact of permitting Handel’s drama to circulate precisely because it ought. Cleopatra’s scene in Act Two the place she is meant to look enthroned with the muses actually did characteristic the 9 musicians on stage, which is one thing opera firms not often try these days, and McVicar retains largely to the work’s dramaturgy in order that exit arias have been largely that.
While McVicar does current Handel and his librettist Nicola Haym’s drama just about as they supposed, McVicar additionally takes the view that opera seria as a style is one thing that wants assist whether it is to dwell theatrically. He does this by leavening the drama with humour, using the refrain and actors has a stylised sense of the comedian to it and choreographer Andrew George’s motion usually had a lightening, leavening impact. Additionally, within the moments of unlucky coincidence or suspension of disbelief, to which opera seria is quite inclined, if the manufacturing didn’t really encourage amusing, it was quite anticipated. That stated, inside this playfulness, the characters are taken severely and their feelings are by no means lightened.
This playfulness very a lot centres on the character of Cleopatra. Till we get to ‘Se pieta’, the function is relentlessly choreographed, even ‘V’adoro, pupille’. Louise Alder entered into issues with a will, a way of playful enjoyment radiating from her with by no means a touch of sending the function up. This Cleopatra was undoubtedly a playful minx, however Alder’s lyric soprano voice is larger and richer than a mere soubrette and even within the extra bravura arias there was a richness and sense of luxurious to her singing that hinted on the extra critical issues to return. Substantial roles like Cleopatra in Baroque opera could be one thing of a problem, with the way in which every aria explores only one or two emotional colors; right here, Alder ensured that all the things was joined up so we believed in her emotional growth. Her excellent account of ‘Se pieta’ was shifting and plausible while ‘Piangerò’ was beautifully intense, but ‘Da tempeste’ returned us to the dancing playfulness. All in all, an actual triumph.
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| Handel: Giulio Cesare – Cameron Shahbazi, Louise Alder – Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photograph: © Richard Hubert Smith) |
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen made a bodily imposing Giulio Cesare, trying very a lot the conqueror (thought it was unlucky that his Act One costume of nice coat and breast plate seemed extra cumbersome than imposing), with a voice to match. There was by no means a touch that the function lies quite low, he produced a beautiful even sound from prime to backside. His bravura moments have been vividly carried out with some admirably vibrant passagework, but within the critical moments comparable to ‘Alma del gran Pompeo’, Nussbaum Cohen was equally intense within the seriousness. The consequence was a richly layered portrait of a fancy hero. His looking aria, ‘Va tacito e nascosto’ with its terrific horns was undoubtedly a spotlight, while the aria on the finish of Act Two when he goes off to battle, ‘Al lampo dell’armi’ was an actual tour de pressure, regardless of McVicar’s want to ship up the G&S factor of an aria spending 5 minutes having the character vigorously leaving. The entire of the Act Three scene the place he reappeared from the ocean, with its imaginatively mixture of arioso, recitative and aria, with finely carried out and saved the main focus actually on the character.
Svetlina Stoyanova made an admirably youthful Sesto, each in appears and within the beautiful flexibility and fluidity to her voice. This Sesto was touching in his moments of attempting to metal himself to be the person his father was in addition to having beautiful parts of self-doubt. Stoyanova was splendidly vibrant within the bravura arias, of which Sesto has his justifiable share, but she made the quieter ones actually intimate. The consequence was one other advanced, multi-layered efficiency that created an interesting character, one the place gender virtually turned irrelevant. As Sesto’s mom, Cornelia, Beth Taylor was equally youthful. No dour matron, she was suitably demure and ladylike, but additionally vigorous and extremely energetic. Passionate in her intense response to Cameron Shahbazi’s Tolomeo, this was a vibrant and extremely energetic portrait of a personality who can typically appear a bit passive. But when the chips have been down, Taylor was profoundly shifting and her Act One duet with Stoyanova’s Sesto was undoubtedly a musical spotlight.
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| Handel: Giulio Cesare – Beth Taylor, Svetlina Stoyanova – Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photograph: © Richard Hubert Smith) |
Cameron Shahbazi was a vividly portrayed Tolomeo, extremely colored but not too camp, he was believably a girls’ man although Shahbazi gave this Tolomeo a pleasant theatricality which emphasised the character’s sheer sliminess and nasty streak. Shahbazi was clearly have a whale of a time, there was a enjoyable factor right here too, this Tolomeo loved being nasty. Shahbazi sang the function finely too, there was lots to take pleasure in musically . As his normal, Luca Tittoto introduced vigour and dramatic credibility to Achilla’s two arias, making them really feel excess of simply vital make-weights.
On this manufacturing, Cleopatra’s servant Nireno is performed in a scene-stealing comedian approach and Ray Chenez actually went to city. Bodily adroit, Chenez made Nireno’s antics visually expressive even when they felt, to me, considerably excessive and a tad overdone. He was interesting in Nireno’s aria, one other a type of that may simply really feel like a make-weight. Within the small function of Curio (who by no means will get an aria, whichever model of the opera you carry out), Thomas Chenhall (from the refrain) gave sturdy assist and positively rocked that kilt!
In contrast to Glyndebourne’s 2022 manufacturing of Alcina, which appeared to banish the refrain completely, this one used it to the total although nearly all of singers have been off-stage. However there was nonetheless loads of color and motion from the lads of the refrain, as Cesare’s troopers, and a gaggle of six dancers who doubled as servants (with stylised actions that actually harked again to Nicholas Hytner’s iconic Serse for ENO in 1985) in addition to dancing attendants for Cleopatra and Tolomeo.
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| Handel: Giulio Cesare – Luca Tittoto, Cameron Shahbazi – Glyndebourne, 2024 (Photograph: © Richard Hubert Smith) |
Within the pit, Laurence Cummings saved a agency hand on proceedings, permitting the drama to circulate swiftly but with out seeming rushed. He allowed time for the soloists, together with Cesare’s barely overdone duet with the solo violin initially of Act Two, but the opera flowed too in order that we by no means felt we spent too lengthy dwelling on particulars. There was a dramatic thrust right here too. And he inspired a wealthy vibrant sound from the orchestra which verged on the lavish at occasions. There was nothing austere about these interval manners, and it made one realise that at its top, Handel’s opera firm fielded an admirably massive orchestra.
Musically and dramatically this was a vivid night within the theatre. So absorbing have been the performances that you just by no means felt the opera’s size, we have been handled to richly layered drama. I’ve to confess that this isn’t my very best manufacturing of Giulio Cesare and the opera’s tendency to playfulness was, at occasions, a bit an excessive amount of for me, however I can’t deny that the entire was a richly rewarding night at a Handel opera.
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