Handel - Giulio Cesare
by Craig Smith, Peter Sellars
List Price:
Our Price: $22.18
You Save: $17.80 (45%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Drew Minter, James Maddalena, Jeffrey Gall, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, Susan LarsonDirector: Craig Smith, Peter Sellars
Brand: Uni
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); Chinese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language), DTS 5.1; Italian (Published), DTS 5.1; English (Published); French (Published); German (Published); Mandarin Chinese (Published); Spanish (Published)
Format: Classical, Color, Digital Sound, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 237 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca
Movie Reviews of Handel - Giulio Cesare
Movie Review: 5 Stars
I do not know what all you other reviewers find wrong with this production. I find that it is the best Giulio Cesare I have heard to date. I know that most of the problems with this production stem from Peter Sellers Controversial directing of the stage and modernization. I find it actually charming.And now for the singers! Jeffery Gall (I'll admit) is not the world's most ideal Countertenor, but he pulls the role of Julius Caesar very well. His chemistry with Cleopatra is amazing. His best aria vocally is "al'lampo dell'armi". Susan Larson (Sellar's Fiordiligi in Cosi and Cherubino in Figaro) as Cleopatra left me absolutely speechless. There is absolutely no glitches in her performance. It would be hard to find just one aria that she excels in. She witty banter with Nirena is very funny and well-acted. Mary Westbrook-Geha as Cornelia is wonderful. Her acting and singing combine to make a very enjoyable performance. Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson (Elvira in Sellar's Don Giovanni) as Sesto was beyond amazing (as with Cornelia.) The act one duet ("Sonata a Lagrimar") almost made me faint. Drew Minter's Countertenor Tolomeo was good but not great. His singing was acceptable but his acting was a little stinted. James Maddalena (Sellar's Guglielmo in Cosi and The Count in Figaro) as Achillas was wonderful. No other words can describe how good it was. His chemistry with Cornelia was heated. Cheryl Cobb's Nirena was greatly acted and sung to the extreme. I was SO glad that she got her often-cut 2nd act aria ("Che perdu un Momento) and she sings it to a T. Hermann Hildebrand (Sellar's Antonio in Figaro) was good as the small role of Curio.
The Conductor Craig Smith sets very good tempos and never exceeds what Handel has written. His singers don't seem labored by him at all. The orchestra is a good solid Baroque orchestra. Peter Sellar's Directing is very interpolative. He uses a lot of "song-and-dance" numbers/ interpretative dance in many arias and duets
My verdict: If you have to have one Giulio Cesare- get this one.
Summary of Handel - Giulio Cesare
Peter Sellars's daring and novel adaptation of Handel's opera Giulio Cesarepreviously released on Laser Disc and VHS is now available on DVD!
Though sung in the original Italian, Giulio Cesare is relocated in the
unspecified future in the Middle East. Cesare is the unquestioned leader
of a major world power who visits the Empire's number one global
trouble spot. Ptolemy is a 14-year-old "self styled local potentate"
and Cleopatra his beautiful and spoiled elder sister.
Included in this DVD are the English subtitles supplied by director Peter
Sellars himself, specifically created to match and enhance his personal vision of this opera. CAST LIST JEFFREY GALL Giulio Cesare SUSAN LARSON Cleopatra MARY WESTBROOK-GEHA Cornelia LORRAINE HUNT Sesto JAMES MADDALENA Achilla DREW MINTER Tolomeo CHERYL COBB Nirena HERMAN HILDEBRAND Curio Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden Craig Smith, conductor Directed by Peter Sellars
Similar DVD Movies
Mozart - Don GiovanniUniversal Studios; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $20.59
Price in other shops:
Lully: AtysRelease date: 2011-11-08; DVD
Best price: $31.86
Price in other shops:
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas; Music for "The Gordian Knot Unty'd"Release date: 1994-09-27; Music CD
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops:
Handel: AriodanteRelease date: 2011-06-07; Music CD
Best price: $18.75
Price in other shops:
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Brahms 8 Lieder Op. 57 & Schumann Frauenliebe und -lebenRelease date: 2008-11-11; Music CD
Best price: $11.15
Price in other shops:
A TributeRelease date: 2011-08-09; Music CD
Best price: $21.73
Price in other shops:
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Recital: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson at RaviniaRelease date: 2009-02-10; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Berlioz: Nuits d'Ete, Handel: AriasRelease date: 2011-03-08; Music CD
Best price: $13.57
Price in other shops:
Handel - Theodora / Peter Sellars · William Christie · Upshaw, Hunt, Daniels, Croft · Glyndebourne OperaKultur; Release date: 2004-06-29; DVD
Best price: $17.21
Price in other shops:
Giulio CesareNaxos OF America INC; Release date: 2006-05-16; DVD
Best price: $36.77
Price in other shops: