Handel’s Baroque opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto unfolds here as a high-stakes drama of power, passion and survival. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s powerful production strips the story to its psychological core, placing political rivalry and a fiery love story within the claustrophobic setting of an underground bunker. Christophe Dumaux delivers a compelling Cesare, while Olga Kulchynska shines as a “lyrical” Cleopatra in her Salzburg debut. With a superb supporting cast, above all Lucile Richardot as Cornelia “with her smouldering mezzo” (BR Klassik) and Federico Fiorio as Sesto, Emmanuelle Haïm conducts Le Concert d’Astrée from the harpsichord, shaping “a perfect whole” (Kurier) of musical brilliance and electrifying theatre.
Giulio Cesare
Triumphantly premiered in 1724 at the King’s Theatre in London, George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto masterfully combines human emotions: Triumph with sorrow, despair with happiness and love with profound melancholy in the face of the transience of all earthly life. Star director Keith Warner creates a production that imaginatively blends silent film and baroque opera, delightfully echoing Mankiewicz’s legendary Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. An excellent cast of singers is led by two of the world’s leading countertenors: Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumaux. Louise Alder shines as the seductive Cleopatra. Patricia Bardon, Simon Bailey and Jake Arditti are further highlights in this extraordinary group of singers, while Ivor Bolton provides the appropriate soundtrack on the podium of the Concentus Musicus Wien. “Cheers for all involved” / “Many of the excellent singing actors present themselves in top form.” Kurier “A must for baroque opera fans.” Kronen Zeitung
Ariodante
At Salzburg Festival, Cecilia Bartoli shines as Ariodante with her dazzling coloratura in a highly acclaimed new production by the German director Christoph Loy, who is known for his clever psychological stagings. Loy turns Handel’s splendid baroque opera into an exciting and differentiated reflection on gender roles. A high-class ensemble, first and foremost a brilliant Cecilia Bartoli in the trouser role of the knight Ariodante who effortlessly switches between cheerful and lamenting virtuoso singing makes the production a true triumph. At her side perform audience favourite Rolando Villazón as Lurcano and young American soprano Kathryn Lewek, praised by critics as a „true discovery“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Gianluca Capuano at the podium of the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco „provides for elegance, richness of colour and a sensitive, stirring realisation of the ingenious score.“ (Kurier). „Cecilia Bartoli is a league of her own!” (Der Standard). “The singing was sensational” (LA Times)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Handel’s gripping Baroque opera comes to life as a high-stakes drama of power, passion and intrigue. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s “powerful” (Kurier) production sets political rivalry against a fiery love story in the confines of an underground bunker. Christophe Dumaux is a thrilling Cesare, “with his mercurial countertenor and pointed acting” (Der Standard). At his side, Olga Kulchynska gives her Salzburg debut as a “lyrical” Cleopatra: “Bright high notes, precise filigree technique, youthful freshness: she has it all” (Salzburger Nachrichten). The rest of the cast is equally “superb” (Der Standard), above all Lucile Richardot as Cornelia “with her smouldering mezzo” (BR Klassik) and Federico Fiorio as her son Sesto. Baroque specialist Emmanuelle Haïm conducts her orchestra Le Concert d’Astrée from the harpsichord, “completely in her element” (Salzburger
Nachrichten). A scenic and musical collaboration full of intensity, imagination and electrifying theatre.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Triumphantly premiered in 1724 at the King’s Theatre in London, George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto masterfully combines human emotions: Triumph with sorrow, despair with happiness and love with profound melancholy in the face of the transience of all earthly life. Star director Keith Warner creates a production that imaginatively blends silent film and baroque opera, delightfully echoing Mankiewicz’s legendary Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. An excellent cast of singers is led by two of the world’s leading countertenors: Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumaux. Louise Alder shines as the seductive Cleopatra. Patricia Bardon, Simon Bailey and Jake Arditti are further highlights in this extraordinary group of singers, while Ivor Bolton provides the appropriate soundtrack on the podium of the Concentus Musicus Wien. “Cheers for all involved” Kurier. “A must for baroque opera fans.” Kronen Zeitung