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Special offer. Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Dame Janet Baker (Julius Caesar), Valerie Masterson (Cleopatra), Della Jones (Sextus), Sarah Walker (Cornelia), James Bowman (Ptolemy), John Tomlinson (Achillas), Christopher Booth-Jones (Curio), David James (Nirenus)

English National Opera, Sir Charles Mackerras

Awards:

This opera was a personal triumph for Dame Janet. As Caesar, she arms the voice with an impregnable firmness, outgoing and adventurous.
Valerie Masterson shares the honours with Dame Janet,...

Special offer. Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Dame Janet Baker (Julius Caesar), Valerie Masterson (Cleopatra), Della Jones (Sextus), Sarah Walker (Cornelia), James Bowman (Ptolemy), John Tomlinson (Achillas), Christopher Booth-Jones (Curio), David James (Nirenus)

English National Opera, Sir Charles Mackerras

Purchase product

44.1 kHz, 16 bit, FLAC/ALAC/WAV

Original price ($19.25) Reduced price $13.50

320 kbps, MP3

Original price ($16.00) Reduced price $11.25

This release includes a digital booklet

Stream now lossless, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit

Awards:

This opera was a personal triumph for Dame Janet. As Caesar, she arms the voice with an impregnable firmness, outgoing and adventurous.
Valerie Masterson shares the honours with Dame Janet,...

About

Contents and tracklist

Overture
Track length3:03
Act I Scene 1: Caesar! Caesar! Egypt acclaims thee (Chorus)
Track length1:38
Act I Scene 1: Kneel in tribute, fair land of Egypt (Caesar)
Track length2:05
Act I Scene 1: Curio, Caesar has come … (Caesar, Cornelia, Sextus, Achillas)
Track length2:33
Act I Scene 1: Tyrant, avoid my sight (Caesar)
Track length3:57
Act I Scene 1: Mother! Cornelia! (Sextus, Curio, Cornelia)
Track length0:43
Act I Scene 1: Grief and woe all hope deny me (Cornelia)
Track length6:10
Act I Scene 1: The time for tears is over (Sextus)
Track length0:27
Act I Scene 1: Come rouse yourselves to vengeance (Sextus)
Track length4:07
Act I Scene 2: You shall be Queen, Cleopatra (Cleopatra, Nirenus, Ptolemy)
Track length2:01
Act I Scene 2: Yet why despair? (Cleopatra)
Track length4:37
Act I Scene 2: Pharaoh, my King! (Achillas, Ptolemy)
Track length1:11
Act I Scene 2: Upstart, barbarian and traitor! (Ptolemy)
Track length3:40
Act I Scene 3: Spirit of mighty Pompey (Caesar, Curio, Cleopatra, Nirenus)
Track length5:19
Act I Scene 3: Here within thee, O friendly marble (Cornelia)
Track length3:03
Act I Scene 3: Alas! Reviled and neglected, must I remain here for ever? (Cornelia, Sextus, Cleopatra, Nirenus)
Track length2:03
Act I Scene 3: O star of my desire (Cleopatra)
Track length5:32
Act I Scene 4: Caesar! A generous destiny … (Ptolemy, Caesar, Achillas)
Track length1:08
Act I Scene 4: How silently, how slyly (Caesar)
Track length6:29
Act I Scene 4: Sire, with Sextus her son, the lady Cornelia (Achillas, Cornelia, Sextus, Ptolemy)
Track length1:58
Act I Scene 4: Ne'er reject a tender lover (Achillas)
Track length5:13
Act I Scene 4: Mother! My dearest! (Sextus, Cornelia)
Track length0:37
Act I Scene 4: Condemn'd to grieve and cry, my love (Cornelia, Sextus)
Track length7:48
Act II Scene 1: Have you done as I ordered, faithful Nirenus? (Cleopatra, Nirenus, Caesar)
Track length2:48
Act II Scene 1: Lamenting, complaining of Caesar's disdaining (Cleopatra, Caesar)
Track length4:37
Act II Scene 1: Fly then, fly, O my heart (Caesar, Nirenus)
Track length0:42
Act II Scene 1: Fleet o'er flowery meadow gliding (Caesar)
Track length7:47
Act II Scene 2: Still despairing, still lamenting (Cornelia)
Track length2:19
Act II Scene 2: Lady, forget your grieving (Achillas, Cornelia, Ptolemy)
Track length2:05
Act II Scene 2: Deep within my bosom burning (Ptolemy)
Track length3:19
Act II Scene 2: So why delay? (Cornelia, Sextus)
Track length1:17
Act II Scene 2: Sigh no more, forget lamenting (Cornelia)
Track length3:14
Act II Scene 2: He is no son who seeks not full revenge … (Sextus)
Track length0:24
Act II Scene 2: Wounded, the serpent ne'er reposes
Track length5:04
Act II Scene 3: Soon he will come to find me (Cleopatra)
Track length0:44
Act II Scene 3: Venus, fair lady, 1 favour send me (Cleopatra)
Track length4:53
Act II Scene 3: Ah gods! What do I see? (Caesar, Cleopatra, Curio)
Track length2:49
Act II Scene 3: In anger and fury I'll turn on the foe (Caesar, Chorus)
Track length1:41
Act II Scene 3: They will kill him (Cleopatra)
Track length1:10
Act II Scene 3: Hear my prayer, O gods, relenting (Cleopatra)
Track length9:44
Act II: Symphony
Track length0:42
Act III Scene 1: So! You are beaten! (Ptolemy, Cleopatra)
Track length0:56
Act III Scene 1: I shall tame your pride unbending (Ptolemy)
Track length4:14
Act III Scene 1: And so in 1 brief hour all my glory is gone? (Cleopatra)
Track length1:06
Act III Scene 1: Flow, my tears (Cleopatra)
Track length6:50
Act III Scene 1: From the perils of the ocean (Caesar)
Track length2:06
Act III Scene 1: Zephyrs! Zephyrs, come to mine aid! (Caesar)
Track length6:35
Act III Scene 1: Nirenus, the battle is fought and lost (Sextus, Achillas, Caesar, Curio)
Track length2:32
Act III Scene 1: See in spate the high cataract storming (Caesar)
Track length4:33
Act III Scene 2: Ladies, my faithful servants (Cleopatra, Caesar)
Track length3:25
Act III Scene 2: Stormy winds my ship had shaken (Cleopatra)
Track length6:24
Act III Scene 3: Symphony
Track length2:59
Act III Scene 3: Here, Curio and your legions (Nirenus, Caesar, Sextus, Cornelia, Cleopatra)
Track length2:27
Act III Scene 3: Dearest! Fairest! (Cleopatra, Caesar)
Track length5:45
Act III Scene 3: Long, long may Egypt continue (Caesar)
Track length0:29
Act III Scene 3: Proclaim we all great Caesar's glory (Chorus)
Track length0:52
Act III Scene 3: A vow I give you (Caesar, Cleopatra)
Track length0:57
Act III Scene 3: Proclaim we all great Caesar's glory (Chorus)
Track length0:54

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

2010

This opera was a personal triumph for Dame Janet. As Caesar, she arms the voice with an impregnable firmness, outgoing and adventurous.
Valerie Masterson shares the honours with Dame Janet, a Cleopatra whose bright voice gains humanity through ordeal. The tinkle of surface- wear clears delightfully in her later arias, sung with a pure tone and high accomplishment.
As a total production, Julius Caesar was an outstanding achievement in ENO's history.
Strongly cast, it had a noble Cornelia in Sarah Walker, a high-spirited Sesto in Della Jones, and in James Bowman a Ptolemy whose only fault was that his voice lacked meanness of timbre appropriate to the odious character. John Tomlinson's massive bass also commands attention.
Mackerras's conducting is impeccable and the opera is given in clear, creditable English.
(See next review for the video equivalent.)

2010

the ravishing accompaniments to the two big Cleopatra arias amply justify the use by the excellent ENO orchestra of modern rather than period instruments...The full, vivid studio sound makes this one of the very finest of the invaluable series of ENO opera recordings in English.

August 2014

Even if opera in English translation (or baroque opera on modern instruments) doesn't usually grab you, Charles Mackerras's legendary 1979 remains unmissable, not least for Dame Janet Baker's supremely authoritative Caesar, Sarah Walker's stately Cornelia and John Tomlinson's blustery Achilla.
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