Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (2-DVD) – Bejun Mehta, Louise Alder

Composer: George Frideric Handel
Artists: Bejun Mehta, Louise Alder, Patricia Bardon, Jake Arditti, Christophe Dumaux, Simon Bailey, Konstantin Derri, Joni Österlund, Concentus Musicus Wien
Conductor: Ivor Bolton
Director: Keith Warner
Video Format: NTSC 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, Korean, Japanese
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 2
Studio: Unitel
Release Date: September 23, 2022
Run Time: 183 minutes

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. 

“Many of the excellent singing actors present themselves in top form.” (Kurier) 

“A triumph! A must for baroque opera fans.” (Kronenzeitung) 

“A finely balanced mixture of poetry and comedy, of cinematic action and touching contemplation.” (Der Standard)

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