Giulio Cesare

Our second production at Glyndebourne. Renowned Handel specialist Lawrence Cummings returns to Glyndebourne to conduct Giulio Cesare and is joined by soprano Louise Alder as Cleopatra with American countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as Giulio Cesare.

Handel’s most popular opera, both in his lifetime and today, Giulio Cesare tells the story of the momentous meeting between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. But rather than paint it as a sprawling classical epic, Handel gives us a surprisingly intimate, human portrait of love, jealousy, revenge and desire. These are people first, rulers second.

Giulio Cesare arrives in Egypt, where he meets warring royal siblings Cleopatra and Tolomeo, each determined to win the throne by any means possible. Appalled by Tolomeo’s cruelty and violence, and seduced by the beautiful Cleopatra, Cesare throws his support behind her. But is this an alliance of politics or passion? And who will survive to claim the crown after the final bloody battle? All is revealed in the dramatic climax of Handel’s great tragicomedy.

Find out more about the Glyndebourne experience and book tickets on the venue’s website.