Rene Jacobs, Concerto Koln - Handel: Giulio Cesare (1991)

When this set appeared it pushed all the other recorded versions of Giulio Cesare aside, and now, examining it again and even finding some things to argue with, it maintains that supreme position. The opera is given complete and all the roles are sung in their original octaves (no bass-baritone Caesar, for instance). René Jacobs' tempos are ideal for each dramatic situation, and if the recitatives have a formality that slows them down somewhat, well, we are dealing with Caesar, Cleopatra, and very grand historic deeds. Both orchestra and singers embellish their written lines, and from this vantage point, those embellishments seem very tame–but they're still welcome, highly musical, and apt.
To this day, most of the cast could not be bettered. Cornelia's opening aria is so beautifully, heartbreakingly sung, that in a better world mezzo Bernarda Fink would have become an overnight sensation on the level of a Pavarotti. Marianne Rørholm's Sesto is energetic and has the correct combination of impetuousness and dignity, but her voice strikes me as slightly too light, even for this youngish man. Similarly, Barbara Schlick is a delightful Cleopatra and she sings with absolute assuredness, but if you compare her with, say, Beverly Sills (on RCA), you don't get a complete picture of this complicated woman. Handel gives Cleopatra eight arias, covering joy, flirtatiousness, tragedy, deception, straightforwardness, etc.; the role is as rich as Isolde. With Sills, even despite her sometimes wild over-embellishments, you get every facet; Schlick misses the sheer depth of Cleopatra's complexity. It's a minor complaint given how glorious Schlick's singing is, but it must be addressed.
No such criticisms are possible about Jennifer Larmore's Cesare. The voice is as solid as a rock, her coloratura is staggering in its accuracy, and the dark, masculine sound she effects for the role is uncannily right. She can be aggressive, she can be love-smitten. In the accompanied recitative when she contemplates Pompey's ashes, her depth of feeling is palpable, her soul troubled. It's a great performance. The smaller roles are equally well-taken, with Derek Lee Ragin's effete-yet-dangerous Ptolomy particularly striking. In short, while Beverly Sills' Cleopatra is an unequalled treasure, Jacobs' cast and interpretive outlook turn the opera into the drama it should be, and no one who cares about Baroque opera should do without this set.

-Robert Levine

Performer:
Cesare - Jennifer Larmore
Cleopatra – Barbara Schlick
Cornelia – Bernarda Fink
Sesto – Marianne Rorholm
Tolomeo – Derek Lee Ragin
Achilla – Furio Zanasi
Nireno – Dominique Visse
Curio – Olivier Lallouette
Concerto Köln
Conductor - René Jacobs

Track List:
CD1:
01. Ouverture
02. ATTO PRIMO
- Scena 1. Cesare e Curio
- Coro Viva il nostro Alcide
03. Cesare. Aria Presti omai
- Scena 2. Cornelia, Sesto e detti
04. Scena 3. Achilla, e detti
- Cesare. Aria Empio, dirò
05. Scena 4. Curio, Sesto e Cornelia
- Cornelia. Aria Priva son d'ogni conforto
06. Sesto. Aria Svegliatevi nel core
07. Scena 5. Cleopatra, poi Nireno, e dopo Tolomeo
- Cleopatra. Aria Non disperar
08. Scena 6. Tolomeo, ed Achilla
- Tolomeo. Aria L'empio, sleale
09. Scena 7. Cesare, e poi Curio che introduce Cleopatra e Nireno
- Cesare. Aria Alma del gran Pompeo
10. Cesare. Aria Non è sivago
11. Cleopatra. Aria Tutto può
12. Scena 8. Cornelia, Sesto, Cleopatra, Nireno
- Cornelia. Aria Nel tuo seno
13. Sesto. Aria Cara speme
14. Cleopatra. Aria Tu la mia stella
CD2:
01. Scena 9. Cesare, Tolomeo, Achilla
- Tolomeo Cesare, alla tua destra
- Cesare. Aria Va tacito
- Scena 10. Cornelia, Sesto, Tolomeo, Achilla
- Scena 11. Cornelia, Sesto, Achilla
02. Achilla. Aria Tu sei il cor
03. Cornelia, Sesto Son nata a lagrimar
04. ATTO SECONDO
- Scena 1. Cleopatra, Nireno
- Cleopatra Eseguisti, o Niren
05. Scena 2. Nireno, CesareSinfonia
06. Cleopatra. Aria V'adoro, pupille
07. Cesare. Aria Se in fiorito
08. Scena 3. Cornelia, Achilla
- Scena 4. Cornelia, Tolomeo
09. Achilla. Aria Se a me non sei crudele
10. Tolomeo. Aria Si spietataScena 5. Cornelia, Sesto
- Scena 6. Nireno, e detti
11. Cornelia. Aria Cessa omai
12. Sesto. Aria L'angue offeso
- Scena 7. Cleopatra, Cesare
13. Cleopatra. Aria Venere bella
- Scena 8. Curio, e detti
14. Cesare. Aria Al lampo dell'armi
CD3:
01. Cleopatra Che sento? / Se pietà
02. Scena 9. Tolomeo, Cornelia, Sesto
- Tolomeo. Aria Belle dee
- Scena 10. Achilla, e detti
- Scena 11. Sesto, Cornelia
03. Sesto. Aria L'aura che spira
04. ATTO TERZO
- Scena 1. Achilla Dal fulgor
- Scena 2. Tolomeo, Cleopatra
05. Sinfonia
06. Tolomeo. Aria Domerò
07. Scena 3. Cleopatra E pur cosi / Piangerò
08. Scena 4. Cesare, Sesto, Nireno, Achilla
- Cesare. Arie Dall'ondoso / Aure, deh, per pietà
09. Cesare. Aria Quel torrente
10. Scena 5. Sesto, Nireno
- Sesto. Aria La giustizia
11. Scena 6. Cleopatra, Cesare
Cleopatra Voi, che mie fide ancelle
12. Cleopatra. Aria Da tempeste
- Scena 7. Cornelia, Tolomeo
- Scena 8. Sesto, e detti
13. Cornelia. Aria Non ha più
CD4:
01. Scena ultima. Cesare, Cleopatra, Curio, Nireno, Sesto, Cornelia
- Sinfonia
02. Cleopatra, Cesare Caro / Bella
03. Coro Ritorni omai
04. APPENDICE
- Nireno. Aria Qui perde un momento