Handel - Giulio Cesare 2 DVD / Directed by Peter Sellars / Starring: Jeffrey Gall, Susan Larson, Lorraine Hunt, Cheryl Cobb, Herman Hildebrand / Decca

UPC 0044007140895

MADE IN EU

REGION 0 NTSC DVD (All regions)

Audio: Italian LPCM Stereo, DTS 5.1

Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese

Runtime: 239 minutes

English Summary:

Some operas are best left untouched in regards to their stage direction while others can benefit from updated sets and new aesthetics. Peter Sellar's bold reinterpretation of Handel's GIULIO CESARE falls into the latter category, and this staging from 1992--starring Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, Jeffrey Gall, Drew Minter, Susan Larson, and James Maddalena--is an original and stunning adaptation.

Though sung in the original Italian, Handel's opera is relocated by American director Peter Sellars to the oil-rich Middle East in the unspecified Future. Julius Caesar is the unquestioned leader of a major world power, on a visit to the number-one global trouble spot. The drama unfolds in an exclusive international hotel, still under construction but already suffering from terrorist attacks. There he confronts Ptolemy, a teenaged self-styled local potentate, and fatefully encounters Cleopatra, Ptolemy's beautiful yet spoilt 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