David Alden’s new production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Grange Festival delivers a bold, psychologically charged interpretation that reframes the opera as a meditation on power, obsession, and the fragility of empire. Starring countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in the title role, the production runs until July 12 at the Hampshire venue.
A dark, modern lens on a Baroque classic
Alden sets the action in an unspecified 20th-century dictatorship, with Cesare as a military strongman whose conquests are as much internal as external. The stage, designed by Gideon Davey, is dominated by a crumbling marble hall, its walls covered in surveillance cameras and propaganda posters. The effect is claustrophobic and menacing, a world where every glance is a threat.
Costanzo’s Cesare is a study in contradictions: imperious yet vulnerable, brutal yet seductive. His voice, with its remarkable range and color, navigates Handel’s virtuosic arias with ease, from the defiant “Va tacito e nascosto” to the aching “Se in fiorito ameno prato.” The countertenor’s physicality is equally compelling; he prowls the stage like a caged predator, his movements precise and predatory.
Strong supporting cast and musical direction
As Cleopatra, soprano Lucy Crowe brings a shimmering, agile soprano and a wily intelligence to the role. Her Cleopatra is less a seductress than a survivor, using her wits to manipulate the men around her. Crowe’s “V’adoro, pupille” is a highlight, sung with exquisite tenderness while she tenderly bathes a wounded soldier.
Countertenor Tim Mead is a chilling Tolomeo, his voice a cold, precise instrument that captures the tyrant’s cruelty. Mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers brings depth to Cornelia, her grief palpable in “Priva son d’ogni conforto.” The chorus, a constant, ominous presence, moves with military precision, their chants and whispers amplifying the sense of dread.
Conductor Christian Curnyn leads the Grange Festival Orchestra in a taut, dramatic reading of the score. Tempos are brisk, rhythms crisp, and the playing is full of character. Curnyn draws out the opera’s darker colors, emphasizing the minor-key passages that underscore the production’s psychological tension.
Impact and critical reception
The production has divided critics, with some praising its audacity and others questioning its departure from the opera’s comedic elements. “Alden’s vision is uncompromising, stripping away the traditional buffoonery to reveal a work of startling darkness,” wrote one critic. “This is not a Giulio Cesare for purists, but it is a thrillingly coherent one.”
Audiences have responded enthusiastically, with many performances sold out. The production’s success reflects a broader trend in opera: a willingness to reinterpret canonical works for contemporary audiences, using historical narratives to comment on modern issues of power and gender.
