David Stern: Conductor, Giulio CesareOpening weekend has arrived at last! While two of the productions remain in rehearsal, Kiss Me, Kate and Giulio Cesare finally have their opening performances! Tomorrow afternoon will be the opening performance of Giulio Cesare. Below is a bit of insight from conductor David Stern on what the opera-going expereince was like in Handel's time, and why his works endure:
Going to the opera in Handel’s time was very different from our modern day experience. It was an all-day event. The audience arrived at about two or three in the afternoon and stayed until at least eleven at night. They came with friends, food, books and other pastimes to keep them occupiedI had the chance to talk with David Stern [Conductor, Giulio Cesare] about the challenges in mounting these sprawling works today — and why Handel’s operas have withstood the test of time.
“18th-century audiences were not necessarily looking for drama,” he noted. “They wanted to be entertained for brief amounts of time. Often they would wait for the star singers to perform the hit arias and in between go back to talking, eating and reading.” Creating a modern production with dramatic continuity from this genre of opera may seem daunting. Handel, however, was unique among opera composers of his time; his operas were more than a marathon-length parade of virtuoso arias. “He took this model and created unbelievably moving drama,” David said. “Handel not only thought about how one aria should flow into the next, but how each character’s arias created a dramatic arc through the duration of the work. The Cesare of the second act, for example, could never sing the music that he sings in the third act.”
David singled out Achilla’s aria “Tu sei il cor” as a perfect example of Handel’s musical flair for drama. “It is a kind of love/rape aria sung to Cornelia,” he said. “He’s a real thug, threatening the life of her son so that she’ll sleep with him. Despite this rough situation his aria is written as a love song. Handel pitches it very high for a baritone, making it very difficult to sing, which is precisely the point. Achilla is pretending to be this sensitive lover. He’s trying to channel the Dean Martin within him, but it isn’t really working. The clash between the musical setting and his words really communicates the psychological implications of the scene.”
Despite Handel’s theatrical brilliance, it is rare for his operas to be performed complete today. Clocking in at over four hours when done in its entirety, Giulio Cesare can be a long sit for modern audiences. “When trying to find a structure which speaks to the drama of the story,” David said, “we had to make very judicious decisions about what to cut and what to keep. The result is both a compelling story and one ‘hit’ after the next. This is the top 10 stuff! Every number is an absolute masterpiece. Frankly, even Mozart has his downtimes, but our Cesare never loses pace. Handel was an incredible musician. Every note counts. Every gesture counts.”
“18th-century audiences were not necessarily looking for drama,” he noted. “They wanted to be entertained for brief amounts of time. Often they would wait for the star singers to perform the hit arias and in between go back to talking, eating and reading.” Creating a modern production with dramatic continuity from this genre of opera may seem daunting. Handel, however, was unique among opera composers of his time; his operas were more than a marathon-length parade of virtuoso arias. “He took this model and created unbelievably moving drama,” David said. “Handel not only thought about how one aria should flow into the next, but how each character’s arias created a dramatic arc through the duration of the work. The Cesare of the second act, for example, could never sing the music that he sings in the third act.”
David singled out Achilla’s aria “Tu sei il cor” as a perfect example of Handel’s musical flair for drama. “It is a kind of love/rape aria sung to Cornelia,” he said. “He’s a real thug, threatening the life of her son so that she’ll sleep with him. Despite this rough situation his aria is written as a love song. Handel pitches it very high for a baritone, making it very difficult to sing, which is precisely the point. Achilla is pretending to be this sensitive lover. He’s trying to channel the Dean Martin within him, but it isn’t really working. The clash between the musical setting and his words really communicates the psychological implications of the scene.”Despite Handel’s theatrical brilliance, it is rare for his operas to be performed complete today. Clocking in at over four hours when done in its entirety, Giulio Cesare can be a long sit for modern audiences. “When trying to find a structure which speaks to the drama of the story,” David said, “we had to make very judicious decisions about what to cut and what to keep. The result is both a compelling story and one ‘hit’ after the next. This is the top 10 stuff! Every number is an absolute masterpiece. Frankly, even Mozart has his downtimes, but our Cesare never loses pace. Handel was an incredible musician. Every note counts. Every gesture counts.”
Photos:
1. David Stern conducting the final dress rehearsal of Giulio Cesare.
2. Lyubov Petrova [Cleopatra] at the final dress rehearsal.
Photo Credits: Cory Weaver.
1 comments:
"He’s trying to channel the Dean Martin within him,".........hey pallie, loves the Dinoref..and you can't blame the dude for wantin' to be likes our Dino...
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