Learning on ScreenJulius Caesar: Act 1
- Synopsis
- The last of 4 programmes of music from Handel’s dramatic works focuses on Act 1 of Handel’s Italian opera Julius Caesar, prepared for broadcasting by Anthony Lewis who also conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Geraint Jones plays the harpsichord. The opera is sung in English.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Radio
- Transmission details
- 19 Dec 1948 at 20:40 (Channel: BBC Third Programme)
- Duration
- 65 mins
- Availability
- No archive copy known
Credits
- Writer
- Geoffrey Dunn
- Editor
- Anthony Lewis
- Cast
Nancy Evans Julius Caesar (Julius Caesar) Alexander Henderson Achilla Alfred Deller Ptolemy Anne Wood Cornelia Catherine Lawson Nirenus Dorothy Bond Sextus Gwen Catley Cleopatra
Additional Details
- Production type
- Operas and Musicals
- Plays
- Julius Caesar
- Subjects
- Drama; Music
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Notes
- Notes
- In this production the role of Julius Caesar is sung by mezzo-soprano Nancy Evans. Other female singers are also cast in male roles, a reversal of the seventeenth century practice which gets around the lack of castrato performers.
- General
- Nicola Francesco’s libretto for this Italian opera was adapted from renditions of the story popular in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It is a simple heroic narrative with easily recognizable, clearly defined characters ideal for this opera format: Cleopatra is saved from the clutches of her evil brother Ptolemy by dashing Caesar. He has come to Egypt in pursuit of arch-rival Pompey, who has just fled Rome in the wake of the civil war.
- History
- Handel’s Julius Caesar (Giulio Cesare) premiered at the Royal Academy of Music, London, in 1724.
- Textual information
- English translation by Geoffrey Dunn.
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Record Stats
This record has been viewed 486 times.
