'Giulio Cesare' at the Liceu: power and sexuality, between historicism and operatic modernity

Prone to the most extreme readings of classical and contemporary operas, Calixto Bieito presented his show about Giulio Cesare by Handel in Amsterdam, and now this masterpiece by the Baroque musician arrives at the Liceu.

With dramaturgy by Bettina Auer, the production revolves around the relationships between sex and power inherent in Nicola Francesco Haym's libretto. Bieito remains faithful to some of his own poetic stage codes, even including self-quotations such as the golden toilets that appear in the final heart and are reminiscent of those of that now distant Masked dance premiered at the Liceu in 2000. But if the production of Verdi's opera was brilliant despite the controversy, the one by Giulio Cesare It's very uneven: the basic ideas dissolve in their scenic resolution (especially in the second half), and some resources are neither fully justified nor explained, and even end up hopelessly wrecked. And neither Rebecca Ringst's metallic set design, nor Ingo Kruegler's costumes, nor, even less so, Michael Bauer's erratic lighting, help.

Historicism was embodied in a pit occupied by a Liceu Symphony Orchestra reconfigured as a Baroque orchestra (gut strings, valveless brass, 415 Hz tuning fork, etc.), albeit with many guest musicians who were not part of the original lineup. William Christie demanded those criteria, in accordance with his "philological" conception of the works he conducts with full knowledge of the subject matter. The result pivots between originality, rigor, and flexibility, with imaginative solutions that energize a score that feels fresh thanks to the direction of the American-born French conductor. It is true that some numbers may be perceived as excessively slow, but this is typical of many of Christie's performances. On the contrary, the accompaniment is exemplary in terms of attention to detail and the way the voices are carried. And individually, there are brilliant performances, especially in the arias with obliges, such as It goes tacitly and nascosto (horn) or If you have a pleasant meal in the evening (violin). Pity the thunder of the horns in the Symphony II from the end of the third act... an accident that in no way spoiled the overall musical result of the performance.

Vocally, this one Giulio Cesare presents many (too many) ups and downs. Starting with a Xavier Sabata who surely does not benefit from the change of pitch, because the drop in the bass zone forces him to change the color and reduce the projection. Teresa Iervolino also suffered some problems (mainly tuning) in the skin of a Cornelia too blurred by Bieito's line, although her performance improved from the second act onwards. The one who went from more to less was Helen Charlston's Sesto, with swallowed and vulgar sounds in the last aria of the character, The giustizia has già sull'arcoCameron Shahbazi's Tolomeo was correct, lacking incisiveness and malice in the service of the Egyptian king, and Alberto Miguélez Rouco's Nireno was very fair, barely audible and who was made to sing the aria, while Cleopatra was denied the beautiful You my stella seiA queen, indeed, crowned with the splendid voice of Julie Fuchs, extraordinary as a singer and actress, with a mastery of vocal pyrotechnics and stagecraft. Without a doubt, she was the best performer of the performance, along with the always magnificent José Antonio López, whose only regret is that the role of Achilla wasn't longer.