Giulio Cesare: An Opera
One of the most famous Roman leaders, Julius Caesar and the elegant, Egyptian ruler, Cleopatra were two of many influential icons of the ancient world, yet could you picture them as opera stars? In Giulio Cesare written by George Frederic Handel, the emotional and complex storyline portrays an ingenious range of sentiments including betrayal, vengeance, agony, and love through music. Displays of considerable “mise en scene” using detailing and technology emphasized the viewer’s reality of the show itself, which therefore resulted in a pragmatic opera that twists history with the modern world of entertainment.
When watching Giulio Cesare, the usage of the “mise en scene” detailing is what made this opera come to life. All of the details about the actors and actresses looked their part, which resulted in a believable character. The performers also used fantastic body language to express their emotion, which made viewers essentially jump into the story. The lighting detail in the opera was exquisite. Lights would shine directly onto the actor’s face during scenes of deep sadness, which would result in an emotional angst. The lighting seemed to be strategically lit to express the actor’s costumes. On Caesar’s costume, the lighting would make the red fabric of his cloak prominent and the metal of his armor shine. A large part of the décor used throughout the production was part of the lighting detail. There was lighting on a blank wall to make it appear as ancient architecture. The simplistic décor of the production was appropriate considering how extravagant the costumes and the actor’s voices were. Each costume was meticulous. The necklaces, makeup, hairstyles, dresses, togas, jewelry, accessories…it fit the characters precisely. For an example, in Act 1 of the opera Cleopatra is introduced. She is wearing Egyptian clothing made of sequins and silk. On her head there is dark kohl around her eyes, and her hair is tied up in a bejeweled, gold crown. By the details in her costume you could sense her royal status as well as a realistic idea of how Cleopatra looked in 47 BC. Some of the props used were war armor, exaggerated pilums, chariots, gold accessories, fabrics, and many others. The detailing of the props showed the time period of the opera and made it seem extremely realistic. Overall, the usage of the “mise en scene” details in Handel’s production was simply astute.
When watching this opera, the details used made me discover numerous things about Giulio Cesare. The conformity of the diverse “mise en scene” in the opera made me discover emotion and a sense of appreciation for opera. The way that the actors used their body language while they were singing made the show more realistic, in which created realistic feelings. This made me feel similarly to what the actors were feeling and I found that I seemed to be connected to the story. I found that the actors, lighting, décor, props, and the costumes, could take you back in time to 47 BC (1). Although the production was performed in Italian, there were clues to what was going on in each act. This helped me drastically to know what was happening and helped me to connect better to the emotions of the story. I discovered that the detailing in the costumes were significant because they historically matched nicely, therefore making the opera that more realistic through the details. Watching Handel’s show helped me discover the importance of technological detailing in opera through the “mise en scene”.
When this opera was first presented, I would suspect the audience to have several reactions to the detailing within the technology used. I believe they would have a sense of awe in the appearance of the costumes. For an example, just in Cleopatra’s costume, there were carefully placed jewels and gold sequences. Her makeup emphasized her beauty, and with her extravagant costume, her character took your breath away. As with my mentality, the original audience was probably transported back in time during Caesar and Cleopatra’s reign. I would also suspect that the audience had several emotions during the production. During Cornelia’s grief of her dead husband, the audience probably felt deep sadness. When the news of Caesar’s death flooded the stage, the crowd was probably shocked, yet they discovered later that Caesar was still alive. This most likely brought them hope for his future relationship with Cleopatra as well his aspiration for seeking vengeance. During the growing romance of Caesar and Cleopatra, the audience probably longed for their love to be made official and for them to finally be together. Along with triggered emotion and costumes, I believe that the audience would probably be astounded at the detailing within the décor and props used throughout the show. The aristocrats who attended the opera were most likely astounded at the detailed technology that constructed the production.
George Handel’s Giulio Cesareis important to the chronology of opera because of how he inspired Europe’s opera movement of the 18thcentury. Handel’s passion for Italian opera was expressed ever since he was a boy, and that passion followed him as he went to serve King George I. Because the king saw Handel’s talent, he said, “the composer at the center of the (king’s opera) company was to be George Frederick Handel” (3). Because of this, he changed the world of opera in London and eventually throughout the Europe. “It was the music of Frederick Handel that really established the popularity of opera in London. Handel was sent abroad by the Royal Academy of Music to attract the best available singers to London. Senesino the famous castrato was offered the vast sum of £2,000 a year to perform in London in 1710” (2). It was Handel who started the Italian opera movement, with one of his best Italian productions, Giulio Cesarewithin his works. Handel worked with some of the most talented people of the age to perform his original piece, because he longed for a good “score” for his production. Handel’s score consisted of, “A sumptuous, gorgeous score it is with the unusual addition of four horns, recorders, transverse flute, gamba, bassoon and theorbo, a large lute-like instrument, alladded to the usual pit band of strings and winds” (3). This score revealed that the musical details in Giulio Cesarewas uniquely different in sound, which made the opera more majestic. Handel’s production was successful in the following years of its original showing in 1724 (1), as it still is today. Handel’s work can be summarized, “…the current revival of Handel masterworks for the stage, Julius Caesar in Egypt holds the primary position. Its strongly written characters hold the stage today as well as the operatic creations of a Verdi, a Puccini or a Bizet. It is a great piece of music and a great piece of theatre” (3). Giulio Cesare is a piece that will never be forgotten. Handel was extremely important to the chronology of opera because he started the Italian opera revolution, in which Giulio Cesare was one of the products of.
Technology is used throughout the entire production in numerous ways to produce the opera’s generous detailing. During the modernized production of Giulio Cesare they used pulleys during the transition of scenes. When they pulled the scenery up or down, it was a smooth transition to the next scene. The pulley system has a similar ideology to the original theatre system: In a theatre designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel in the 1700’s, during a performance a pulley system was used for changing sceneries (5). The detailing of the movement of the pulley, added for smooth transitioning and for the audience to admire the coming scenery. The modernized opera used large chariots that were pushed by the soldier actors. They used great detailing on the chariots to symbolize a similar style of chariot in the appropriate time period. The production also had delicate lighting effects that would be shown on the background set. The lighting created a sense of historic architecture that made it seem that the actors were in Egypt. There was also a trap door used in Act 2 of the production. Both details of lighting and trap technology have been used since before Handel’s opera was written. “…the Greeks also used moveable scenery, mounted on wheels or on revolting prisms…plays of the Middle Ages also used stage machinery, including a trapdoor…but the art did not reach its zenith until the Italian Renaissance” (6). Incorporating ancient theatrical technology methods, Giulio Cesare was produced by successful technology techniques. The detailing within the various technology used in the production gave an impressive accuracy to the actual timeline of the story resulting in the realism of the show.
If I were a modern director, turning this opera into a video game would be surprisingly similar to today’s video games. Many of today’s popular video games have a common theme of war, violence, revenge, and battle. We see in 2018, that games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield all have these characteristics (7). I would use Handel’s Giulio Cesare by creating a similar video game based off the plot.For an example, I would incorporate the war at the beginning of Act 1 into the game, where players could choose to play as Caesar to fight among his soldiers. So by using small detailing I could create a character that would be extremely similar to the actual character. For an example, by observing Caesar’s dress code from the opera, I could incorporate his Roman armor into the video game’s character. Also players could have a mission to return to Cleopatra by wandering through the desert to find their way back to the royal palace. Players could listen to a recording of the performed music while in battle or talking with one another in the game. If I were to create Giulio Cesare into a video game, it would be in the details of the game that would make it appealing to play.
Throughout the production, we see that the details throughout every aspect of the performance, including the “mise en scene” and technology used, are key to a successful opera. Handel’s Giulio Cesare has been remembered for centuries, and so it will be remembered forevermore.
MLA
1. Wikipedia. “Giulio Cesare.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Cesare.
2. Museum, Albert. “18th Century Opera.” Introduction to 20th-Century Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2RL. Telephone +44 (0)20 7942 2000. Email Vanda@Vam.ac.uk, 24 July 2013, www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/0-9/18th-century-opera/.
3. “Beethoven and Fidelio.” San Diego Opera, www.sdopera.org/Content/Operapaedia/Operas/Fidelio/Composer.htm.
4. Opernsänger DDR, director. Händel: Julius Cäsar (Deutsch, Staatsoper Berlin, Schreier, Casapietra, Adam). YouTube, YouTube, 1 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTBbvrVgkm0.
5. Izenour, George C., and Clive Barker. “Theatre.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/art/theater-building/Baroque-theatres-and-staging.
6. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Stage Machinery.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/art/stage-machinery.
7. IMDb. “Most Popular Video Games.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2018, www.imdb.com/title/tt0397306/.
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