Handel’s “Giulio Cesare in Egitto”

The four-hour long opera-seria in three acts, written in 1724 in London for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Nicola Francesca Haym, had been fully dedicated to the themes of love and revenge. Protagonist characters alto castrato Giulio Cesare and soprano Cleopatra are developing the love theme through the opera with their eight solo arias and two recitativi each, and a finale duet “Caro! -Bella!”; while the static protagonists contralto Cornelia (three arias, two ariosos) and soprano Sesto (four arias and a duet “Son nata a lagrimar” with Cornelia) focus on the theme of revenge for their murdered husband/father Pompeo. They all, together with the bass – Tolomeo’s general Achilla whose allegiance change to Cleopatra’s side due to the rivalry with Tolomeo over Cornelia, seek to overthrow the tyrannical prince of Egypt in “the quest for a virtuous rulership”[1]. This opera-seria communicates the moral grounds by allowing the positive love (of Cesare and Cleopatra) and the positive vengeance (of Sesto and Cornelia) to win over the negative love (of Tolomeo and Achilla) and the negative vengeance (Tolomeo).