George Frideric Handel

Giulio
Cesare
CONDUCTOR

Harry Bicket

Opera in three acts

Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym

PRODUCTION

David McVicar

Thursday, April 4, 2013, 7:3011:35 pm

SET DESIGNER

Robert Jones
COSTUME DESIGNER

Brigitte Reiffenstuel

Premiere
New Production

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Paule Constable
CHOREOGRAPHER

Andrew George

GENERAL MANAGER

The production of Giulio Cesare was made

possible by a generous gift from the Arthur F.
and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, in
memory of William B. Warren, former Co-Trustee
and Governor of the Foundation; and the
Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation
Additional funding was received from
The Annenberg Foundation, and the
National Endowment for the Arts

Peter Gelb
MUSIC DIRECTOR

James Levine
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR

Fabio Luisi

Production owned by Glyndebourne Festival Opera

201213 Season

The 24th Metropolitan Opera performance of

George Frideric Handels

Giulio Cesare

Conductor
Harry Bicket
the romans

the egyptians

Julius Caesar
(Giulio Cesare)
David Daniels

Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt

Natalie Dessay

Curius (Curio), tribune

John Moore*
Cornelia, widow of Pompey
Patricia Bardon
Sextus Pompey
(Sesto Pompeo), son of
Pompey and Cornelia
Alice Coote

Ptolemy (Tolomeo), King of

Egypt, Cleopatras brother
Christophe Dumaux
Achillas (Achilla), general,
adviser to Ptolemy
Guido Loconsolo debut
Nirenus (Nireno), confidant of
Cleopatra and Ptolemy
Rachid Ben Abdeslam debut

dancers

Christina Luzwick, Karla Dionne Victum,

Justin Flores, Kei Tsuruharatani
actors

This performance
is being broadcast
live on Metropolitan
Opera Radio on
SiriusXM channel 74
and streamed at
metopera.org.

Brian Baldwin, Sean Chin, Matthew Cusick, Tony Guerrero,

Arthur Lazalde, Shad Ramsey, Christian Rozakis, Sasha Semin,
Collin Ware, Philip Willingham, Joshua Wynter, Christian Zaremba

Violin Solo David Chan

continuo

Harpsichord Harry Bicket

Cello David Heiss
Theorbo/Lute/Baroque Guitar James Daniel Swenberg
Harpsichord Ripieno Bradley Brookshire

Thursday, April 4, 2013, 7:3011:35 pm

MARTY SOHL/METROPOLITAN OPERA

A scene from Handels

Giulio Cesare with
David Daniels in
the title role

Chorus Master Donald Palumbo

Fight Director Nicolas Sandys
Musical Preparation Donna Racik, Steven Eldredge,
Gareth Morrell, Bradley Brookshire, and Jonathan Kelly
Asistant Stage Directors Eric Einhorn, Jonathon Loy, and
Kathleen Smith Belcher
Stage Band Conductor Jeffrey Goldberg
Italian Coach Gildo Di Nunzio
Met Titles Sonya Friedman
Scenery, properties, and electrical props constructed and
painted by Cardiff Theatrical Services, Glyndebourne
Festival Opera Shops, and Metropolitan Opera Shops
Costumes executed by Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Costume Shop and the Metropolitan Opera
Costume Shop
Wigs executed by Metropolitan Opera Wig Department
Giulio Cesare in Egitto is performed in the Hndel Complete
Critical Edition by Frieder Zschoch and used by arrangement
with European American Music Distributors Company, sole
U.S. and Canadian agent for Brenreiter-Verlag, publisher
and copyright owner.
This performance is made possible in part by public funds
from the New York State Council on the Arts.

* Graduate of the
Lindemann Young Artist
Development Program
Yamaha is the official piano
of the Metropolitan Opera.
Latecomers will not be
admitted during the
performance.

Visit metopera.org

Before the performance begins, please switch off

cell phones and other electronic devices.
This production uses gunshot effects.

Met Titles
To activate, press the red button to the right of the screen in front of
your seat and follow the instructions provided. To turn off the display,
press the red button once again. If you have questions please ask an
usher at intermission.

Synopsis
The action is based on the historical events of the Roman civil war of 4847 B.C.
Julius Caesar has defeated his rival Pompey and pursued him to Alexandria, capital
of Egypt. The kingdom is ruled jointly by Cleopatra and her younger brother
Ptolemy, the last of the dynasty established in Egypt, after its conquest by
Alexander the Great. Pompey has appealed to Ptolemy for arms and refuge.

Act I

Caesar enters Alexandria with his general Curius and his army. They are met
by Cornelia and Sextus, the wife and son of Pompey, who have come to sue
for peace. Caesar agrees to embrace his enemy, but at that moment Achillas,
general of Ptolemy, arrives with a greeting and gift from his king: Pompeys
severed head. Disgusted, Caesar sends Achillas back with an angry message
for Ptolemy and a threatening promise that he will meet with the king at his
palace before nightfall. Cornelia laments her loss and Sextus swears to avenge
his dead father.
In the palace at Alexandria, Cleopatra plots to take sole possession of the
throne. When she learns of Ptolemys betrayal of Pompey from her servant
Nirenus, she resolves to visit Caesars camp and win his favour and aid. She and
Ptolemy bicker before she steals away. Achillas tells Ptolemy of Caesars angry
reception of his gift and offers to accomplish his murder if Ptolemy grants him
Cornelia as a reward. Ptolemy fears the growing strength of Rome under the
leadership of Caesar and agrees.

At his camp, Caesar presides over Pompeys funeral rites. Cleopatra presents
herself to him disguised as Lydia, a handmaiden in the palace, of noble birth
but robbed of her birthright by Ptolemy. Captivated, Caesar promises to help
her. Cleopatra and Nirenus watch as Cornelia pays her last respects to her
dead husband. Cornelia and Sextus plan together to kill Ptolemy. Cleopatra,
still disguised, comes forward and pledges the support of the Queen of Egypt,
offering them the services of Nirenus as a guide into the palace.
Caesar meets with Ptolemy in an interview of frosty diplomacy. Nevertheless,
he cautiously accepts the kings invitation of hospitality. Cornelia and Sextus
confront Ptolemy. He is struck by Cornelias beauty, but when Sextus challenges
him to combat, he orders their imprisonment. Achillas offers Cornelia her
freedom in return for her favors, but she angrily refuses. She and Sextus bid
each other a sad farewell before the guards separate them.

Intermission

(AT APPROXIMATELY 9:00 PM)

Visit metopera.org

35

Synopsis

CONTINUED

Act II

With Nirenuss help, Cleopatra has arranged an entertainment at the palace to

further ensnare the interest of Caesar. He arrives and is enchanted by her song.
Nirenus assures him that Lydia is deeply attracted and will wait for him later
that night in her apartment.

Cornelia, now a prisoner of Ptolemy, laments her fate. She repulses Achillas
once more, only to be met by the advances of Ptolemy himself. She resolves
to take her own life but is saved by Sextus. He has escaped from prison with
the aid of Nirenus, who also brings the news that Ptolemy has commanded
Cornelia to become one of his concubines. He will help to smuggle Sextus into
the harem as well, where, unguarded, the king will be at his most vulnerable.
Cleopatra waits for Caesar in her apartment, pretending to be asleep when
he enters. Their tryst is interrupted by Curius, who has overheard Achillass
assassins searching the palace for Caesar. Cleopatra reveals her true identity to
Caesar and begs him to fly to safety. Caesar refuses and goes to face his enemy.
Cleopatra prays to the gods to preserve him and the love she now truly feels
for him.

Intermission

(AT APPROXIMATELY 10:25 PM)

Act III

Ptolemy, secure in his harem, lays aside his arms. He throws a white veil to
Cornelia in token that she is to be his that night. Sextus steals in and tries to use
Ptolemys sword to kill him but is disarmed by Achillas, who summons the king
to war: Caesar is believed to have plunged to his death in the harbor during
the previous nights assault, but Cleopatra has fled to the Roman camp and
mustered an army to march on the palace. Ptolemy prepares to lead his troops,
but refuses Achillas the promised reward for Caesars death: Cornelia is to be
his own prize. A furious Achillas decides to switch his allegiance to Cleopatra.

Ptolemys troops are victorious in the battle and Cleopatra is taken prisoner.
Her brother promises to take a terrible revenge, but she faces death with
courage. Caesar, meanwhile, is not dead: the sea has cast him up onto the
shore. Far from his armies, he prays to the wind for help. Sextus and Nirenus
stumble across the wounded Achillas dying on the beach. Overheard by Caesar,
he gives Sextus a seal that will give the bearer authority to command his troops.
As Achillas dies, Caesar takes the seal from Sextus and leaves to assemble a
force to storm the palace. Sextus finds new hope. Revenge will soon be his.

Visit metopera.org

37

Synopsis

CONTINUED

In prison, Cleopatra has prepared to take her own life. Caesar breaks in with his
troops and rescues her. He sends her to the port to rally her armies and leaves
to wage war on Ptolemy. Cleopatra rejoices.
Believing himself to be victorious, Ptolemy sees no obstacle to his pursuit of
Cornelia, but Sextus at last seizes his chance and kills him.
The battle has been won and Caesar crowns Cleopatra sole Queen of Egypt. She
declares her allegiance to the Roman Empire. All welcome the arrival of peace.
David McVicar/Reprinted courtesy of Glyndebourne Festival Opera

38

In Focus
George Frideric Handel

Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Premiere: Kings Theatre, London, 1724
Handels most popular operaboth in his own lifetime and todaydepicts
the momentous meeting of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. This
grand and ancient subject might suggest a vast, Cecil B. DeMille-style epic, but
Handels operatic masterpiece takes the opposite approach. The opera explores
the inner lives of larger-than-life characters with insight and elegance in a score
full of arresting subtleties, dreamy trance-like melodies, and vocal heroics. Handel
worked within (and helped define) the conventions of opera seria, a structurally
formal and decorous genre built primarily around a series of solo arias. He
wrote the role of Cesare for the singer Senesino, one of the most celebrated
of the castratimen whose unique, high vocal range was the result of surgery
performed before puberty combined with the projection power of an adult male.
But Handels operasand Giulio Cesare in particularare much more than
stylized opportunities for showing off vocal pyrotechnics. The composer managed
to transform the opera seria format from a constraining dramatic framework into a
compelling means to examine thoughts and feelings through magnificent music.

The Creators
George Frideric Handel (16851759) was born in Germany, trained extensively in
the music capitals of Italy, and spent most of his brilliant career in London. While
his great choral and orchestral worksmost notably Messiah and the Music for
the Royal Fireworkshave remained extraordinarily popular up to the present day,
his theatrical creations, which were instrumental in introducing Italian opera to the
British public, disappeared from the worlds stages for almost two centuries. The
modern Handel revival began in the 1920s in Germany. During the later decades
of the 20th century, a widespread reassessment of his operas brought these works
to the attention of contemporary audiences. The libretto for Giulio Cesare
adapted from earlier texts that had served as the basis of successful operas in
Italywas created by Nicola Francesco Haym (16781729), a writer, theater
manager, cellist, and composer in his own right. He wrote the librettos for several
of Handels greatest operas, including Tamerlano (1724) and Rodelinda (1725).

The Setting
The story of the opera is loosely based on the encounter of Julius Caesar and
Cleopatra in 48 BC in cosmopolitan Alexandria, then the capital of Egypt. This
defining historical moment has captured the artistic imaginations of everyone
Visit metopera.org INS1

In Focus

CONTINUED

from Shakespeare to Hollywood filmmakers, and the legend of a leader who was
superhuman in intelligence and skill has persisted through the ages. Cleopatra is
another figure who straddles the worlds of history and legend: smart, beautiful,
and ultimately doomed. The opera focuses on the first meeting of these towering
figures, just after Caesar had defeated his rival Pompey the Great at the battle
of Pharsalus to establish himself as the sole ruler of the Roman world. At this
time, Cleopatra was co-ruler of Egypt with her brother, the pharaoh Ptolemy XIII
(Tolomeo in the opera). With a nod to the British Colonial period, the new Met
production transfers the action to a more modern environment, without placing it
in a specific time setting.

The Music
The orchestra in Giulio Cesare is smaller than those of later Baroque operas,
and the musical and dramatic messages are conveyed with more economy than
later composers usedbut with no loss of richness or emotion. The remarkable
solo horn accompaniment in Caesars marvelous Act I aria Va, tacito, for
example, recalls the sound of a hunters horns as he moves in on his prey while
simultaneously suggesting the maneuvers of the characters impressive intellect.
Cleopatra is as seductive as she is intelligent: the onstage band (strings, winds,
a harp, and a theorbo, or large lute) softly accompanies her ravishing Act II aria
Vadoro, pupille, creating a radiant aura around her vocal line to help convince
us of her irresistible charms. However fascinating the orchestral details may be,
though, the drama and beauty of Handels score are conveyed chiefly by the
singers. Dialogue and action are generally confined to the recitatives. The solo
arias that make up the majority of the score, then, are commentaries on the action,
deliberately stopping dramatic time in order to explore a given moment, idea, or
feeling in great depth and from every possible artistic and emotional angle.

Giulio Cesare at the Met

The opera had its Met premiere in 1988 in a production by John Copley. The
cast included Tatiana Troyanos in the title role, Kathleen Battle as Cleopatra,
and Sarah Walker as Cornelia, with Trevor Pinnock conducting. Jeffrey Gall, as
Tolomeo, and Derek Lee Ragin as Nireno, were the Mets first countertenors. A
1999 revival featured Jennifer Larmore as Cesare and the impressive pairing of
mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and countertenor David Daniels (in his Met
debut) as Cornelia and Sesto. This staging was last seen during the 200607
season with Daniels and Lawrence Zazzo sharing the role of Cesare, marking the
first time a man sang the title role at the Met. David McVicars new production
opens on April 4, 2013, with Harry Bicket conducting Daniels opposite Natalie
Dessay as Cleopatra.

Visit metopera.org INS3

Program Note

eorge Frideric Handel was a handsome, highly ambitious young man

in his mid-20s when he came to London, saw a new opportunity, and
conquered the fickle English public for the first time. His weapon, the
hastily written Rinaldo, premiered in February 1711 and represented Italianstyle opera seriaserious or noble-minded opera, in contrast to the comic,
everyday tone of opera buffawhich had only recently been imported to the
island. Rinaldo in fact was the first example of this type created specifically
for London audiences. Its magical atmosphere and use of spectacular special
effects helped win them over temporarily, but Handel would experience the
ebb and flow of their enthusiasm several times before the public taste shifted
decisively, finally forcing him to abandon opera three decades later. Handel
then found an alternative (and less costly) outlet for his dramatic genius in the
new style of English oratorio he had pioneered.
By the time he unveiled Giulio Cesare early in 1724, the German-born
composer had relocated to London permanently and was riding another crest
of operatic triumph as one of several house composers for the Royal Academy
of Music. The Academy (no relation to the current institution of that name) was
founded in 1719 under a charter from King George I to provide a steady supply
of opera seria on the Italian model, which by now commanded international
prestige (except in France). Handels duties as master of the orchestra included
procuring casts from among the leading European stars and working with the
companys librettist, Nicola Francesco Haym, to shape a text maximally suited
to the roster of available singers. Librettist in this context meant recycling
pre-existing texts that had been written according to opera serias familiar
conventions but also likely to satisfy the audiences hunger for novelty in the
form of fresh situations and settings.
As his source text for Giulio Cesare, Haym turned to a Venetian libretto
written by Giacomo Francesco Bussani in the 1670s; it had already been set
multiple times by various composers working in Italy decades before Handel.
The process of adaptation, in which Handel is believed to have had substantial
input, involved savvy trimming away of subplots and minor characters as well
as drawing on other Italian sources to craft additional scenes that would give
the composers imagination especially free rein: in particular, the memorable
opening sequence of the second act. The operas denouement was then
rewritten, according to the eminent Handel scholar Winton Dean, in a way
that tightened the characterization and converted a haphazard chronicle into
a closely organized drama, linking together its two principal story lines: the
love and political alliance between Caesar and Cleopatra and the attainment of
justice by Cornelia and her son Sextus for Pompeys murder by Ptolemy and his
henchman Achillas.
Visit metopera.org INS5

Program Note

CONTINUED

The operas full title, Giulio Cesare in Egitto emphasizes Caesars presence
in an exotic, faraway place wherewhile preoccupied with waging warfare
he in turn is conquered by the power of love. Handel and Haym could just as
reasonably have used the title George Bernard Shaw would later employ, Caesar
and Cleopatra, since the unfolding of the relationship of both protagonists is
the operas focus. Along with the two Shakespeare plays in which each of these
characters respectively figures, Giulio Cesare shows the capacity of art, unlike
propaganda, to illuminate the blurry realm where history and legend intersect
and acquire timeless significance.
Based very loosely on accounts of Caesars campaign in Egypt in 4847 BC
by such ancient chroniclers as Plutarch, the plot mostly involves a fictional
fantasy, set against this epic backdrop, in which the effects of love are revealed
in a series of intimate close-ups from varying perspectives. Dean rightly points
to the essentially youthful quality of this love and of the other passions treated
in Giulio Cesare. (By contrast, the opera Rodelinda, which Handel composed
the following yearand which the Met successfully reintroduced to its stage in
its 2004 productionexplores its scenario of faithful married love with a moving
eloquence that foreshadows Beethovens Fidelio.)
In the context of opera seria conventions, this youthfulness was reinforced
by Handels deployment of vocal types, with its emphasis on high male voices
as a counterpart to the female singers. The title role was written specifically for
the celebrity Italian castrato Senesino, and Tolomeo and Nireno were likewise
performed by castrati; the Mets production mirrors this by casting countertenors
in these roles. Cleopatra and Sesto are both written for soprano (i.e., Sesto, unlike
Cesare, was conceived as a trouser role). Cornelia was cast for an alto, Achilla
and Curio both for bass. Indeed, Handel composed not only for particular voice
types but for specific singers, tailoring his musical conception of each part to their
individual strengths and vocal colors. He even rewrote the first act substantially
after composing an initial draft in the summer of 1723 when he learned that the
cast originally planned for the premiere would have to be altered.
Revisions were made to the libretto as wellgenerally regarded as among
the very best Handel ever had at his disposalwhile several phases of revisions
allowed him to refine the score and to weave unifying threads throughout the
expansive structure. These include the choices of key and tempo associated
with a particular characters arias. The composer lavished particular care on
Giulio Cesare, which is evident both in the ambitious large-scale dimensions of
the work and in the loving detail of its musical invention and orchestration.
Handels tireless efforts were repaid by Cesares highly successful initial
reception, which led to three revivals in his lifetime; for each of these he altered
the score further, taking into account the new casts. We hear an example of one
INS6

of these revisions in a new aria he provided for Nireno at the beginning of the
second act (hitherto, like Curio, without any aria). Productions soon followed on
the continent, and Giulio Cesare was among the very first works that set in motion
Handels posthumous recognition as one of the masters of opera, starting in the
1920s, after nearly two centuries of lazy assumptions about operatic sensibility in
the high Baroque. It now holds pride of place throughout the world as the most
frequently produced of Handels operas.
Certainly some of the fascinationin Handels time and in our owncan
be ascribed to the undying allure of Cleopatra. As Stacy Schiff observes in
her bestselling recent biography of the queen, Cleopatra has had one of the
busiest afterlives in history, eventually becoming an asteroid, a video game, a
clich, a cigarette, a slot machine, a strip club, a synonym for Elizabeth Taylor.
But the reason Handels musical dramatization of this material has enjoyed its
own remarkable afterlife results from its depth and variety. A still-commonplace
bias against opera seria holds that the convention of the da capo aria, which is its
basic building block (an ABA form), involves a merely formulaic repetition after
the contrasting middle section, with a little extra vocal dazzle sprinkled on the
second time around. Another related assumption is that the action happens
in the brief passages of speech-like recitative linking together the arias. In fact
the events that really hold interest and matter for us occur within the arias. These
externalize an ongoing process of insight and reflection (however hackneyed
the actual words of the libretto may be).
Take the sequence of arias for Cleopatra, by means of which Handel
charts the evolution of her self-understanding as authentic emotion replaces
protective artifice. His portrayal of each stagethe illuminating simplicity of
Pianger la sorte mia, for instanceis the musical equivalent of a Shakespeare
monologue: hardly in keeping with the caricature of Baroque opera as merely
a vehicle for vocal display. Even more, the arias are not just pockets of lyrical
beauty but gain substance and significance within the larger network of the
other character portraits. To take Pianger again as an example, Handels
subtle touch is to add flutesassociated by convention with mourningso as
to set Cleopatras emotions in counterpoint to the tragic grief that characterizes
the widowed Cornelia.
Handels version of opera seria in Giulio Cesare integrates these musical
portrayals within an even larger context of vibrant theatricality. The original
production called for state-of-the-art stagecraft and elaborate costumes to
enhance the legendary resonance and fantasy of the story. Powerful, even
gruesome visuals are integral to its effectstarting with the display of Pompeys
decapitated headand Handel made sure to provide some of the most ravishing
music of his entire score for the spectacular scenic picture accompanying
Visit metopera.org INS7

Program Note

CONTINUED

Cleopatras first meeting with Caesar in the guise of Lydia. Music itself
is visualized as an onstage consort producing the celestial strains that so
enchant Caesar. And the choreographic impulses so central to the composers
imagination naturally lend themselves to staging.
Opera seria, after all, doesnt mean serious all the time. Giulio Cesare
interpolates moments of playful seduction and irony amid recurrent episodes
of threat and violence. David McVicars production has generated widespread
excitement thanks to his sympathy for Handels aesthetic, which thrillingly
juxtaposes deeply explored emotional states and a remarkably varied palette
of moods with a sheer delight in entertainment. Its sad to imagine, during
all those years when an aria here and there was admired but Handels operas
themselves faced derision as inherently undramatic fossils, how many were
missing out on a great show.
Thomas May

INS8

The Cast and Creative Team

Harry Bicket
conductor (liverpool , england)

La Clemenza di Tito and Giulio Cesare at the Met, Lucio Silla at Barcelonas
Liceu, a concert with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and a European tour and recordings
with the English Concert.
met appearances Rodelinda (debut, 2004).
career highlights Recent performances include Rinaldo and Hercules for Lyric Opera of
Chicago, Alcina for Bordeaux Opera, Glucks Orfeo ed Euridice for Minnesota Opera
and Atlanta Opera, Orfeo ed Euridice and Idomeneo for the Canadian Opera, Vincent
Martn y Solers LArbore di Diana for Barcelonas Liceu, and Glucks Iphignie en Tauride
for Viennas Theater an der Wien. Since becoming Artistic Director of the English Concert
in 2007 he has toured extensively with that group and has also appeared as a guest
conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others.
this season

David McVicar
director (glasgow, scotland)

Maria Stuarda and Giulio Cesare at the Met.

Il Trovatore (debut, 2009).
career highlights His productions include Il Trovatore (Lyric Opera of Chicago, San
Francisco Opera); La Clemenza di Tito (Aix-en-Provence Festival); Les Troyens, Adriana
Lecouvreur, Aida, Salome, Le Nozze di Figaro, Faust, Die Zauberflte, and Rigoletto
(Covent Garden); Wagners Ring cycle (Strasbourg); Tristan und Isolde (Tokyo); Alcina,
Tosca, and The Rape of Lucretia (ENO); Don Giovanni (San Francisco); The Rakes Progress,
La Traviata, Cos fan tutte, Madama Butterfly, and Idomeneo (Scottish Opera); Die
Meistersinger von Nrnberg, Giulio Cesare, Carmen, and La Bohme (Glyndebourne);
Sweeney Todd, Don Giovanni, Hamlet, and Il Re Pastore (Opera North); Semele (Thtre
des Champs-lyses); Don Giovanni and A Midsummer Nights Dream (Brussels);
The Turn of the Screw (Mariinsky Theatre, ENO); and Manon (ENO, Dallas, Barcelona,
Chicago). He was knighted last year and received the South Bank Show Award for his
productions of Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne and The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn
of the Screw at ENO.
this season

met production

Visit metopera.org

39

The Cast and Creative Team

CONTINUED

Robert Jones
set designer (london, england)

Giulio Cesare at the Met.

Anna Bolena (debut, 2011).
career highlights He has worked on a number of productions for theater including
recent productions of The Full Monty (Sheffield Crucible), Kiss Me, Kate (CFT, Old Vic),
A Chorus of Disapproval (Harold Pinter Theatre), Filumena (Almeida), Much Ado About
Nothing (Wyndhams) and The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium, Toronto). He has worked
extensively on productions seen in Londons West End and on Broadway, and has created
more than 15 productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Opera work includes
Tristan und Isolde in Tokyo, Monteverdis LIncoronazione di Poppea in Paris and Berlin,
LElisir dAmore for English National Opera, Manon Lescaut for Gothenburg Opera, Don
Carlo for the Frankfurt Opera, and Giulio Cesare for the Glyndebourne Festival, Lille
Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. He also created production design for the BBC/Royal
Shakespeare Company film of Hamlet.
this season

met production

Brigitte Reiffenstuel
costume designer (munich, germany)

Un Ballo in Maschera, Giulio Cesare, and Il Trovatore at the Met.

Il Trovatore (debut, 2009).
career highlights She has designed costumes for Covent Garden that including Falstaff
(also for La Scala), Adriana Lecouvreur (also for Barcelona, Vienna, and the Paris Opera),
Faust (also in Lille, Monte Carlo, Trieste, and Valencia) and Elektra; for English National
Opera, including Lucrezia Borgia, Peter Grimes (also Oviedo, De Vlaamse Opera, and
Deutsche Oper Berlin), Tosca, La Damnation de Faust, Lucia di Lammermoor (also for
Gothenburg Opera, Washington National Opera, and Canadian Opera) and Boris
Godunov; for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, including Giulio Cesare (also in Chicago and
Lille); and for Opera North, including Rigoletto, Macbeth (also New Zealand Opera), and
Il Trovatore (also Opera Ireland). Additional work includes Don Giovanni (La Scala), Les
Pcheurs de Perles, and Madama Butterfly (Santa Fe), Il Trovatore (San Francisco, Chicago),
Don Carlo (Frankfurt), Billy Budd and The Makropulos Case (Chicago), Lulu (Munich),
Semele (Pariss Thtre des Champs-Elyses), and Macbeth (Houston, Chicago). Future
productions include a Verdi triple bill in Hamburg and The Queen of Spades in Zurich.
this season

met production

40

Paule Constable
lighting designer (brighton, england)

Giulio Cesare at the Met.

Anna Bolena, Don Giovanni, and Satyagraha (debut, 2008).
career highlights She received the 2011 Tony Award for the Broadway production of War
Horse and Londons Olivier Award for Don Carlos at the Gielgud Theatre, His Dark Materials
at the National Theatre, and The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse. Operatic
engagements include Carmen, Faust, Rigoletto, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflte,
and Macbeth for Covent Garden; Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg,
Billy Budd, Giulio Cesare, Carmen, La Bohme, and Rusalka at Glyndebourne; Idomeneo,
Satyagraha, and Peter Grimes for English National Opera; Cos fan tutte for the Los Angeles
Opera; and LIncoronazione di Poppea, Semele, and Agrippina for Pariss Thtre des
Champs-lyses. She recently completed work on David McVicars production of Wagners
Ring cycle in Strasbourg and Tristan und Isolde in Tokyo.
this season

met productions

Andrew George
choreographer (london, england)

Giulio Cesare at the Met.

Don Giovanni (debut, 2000) and Anna Bolena.
career highlights In the United States he has provided choreography for productions of
Der Fliegende Hllander for New York City Opera and Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg
and Giulio Cesare for Lyric Opera of Chicago. His U.K. credits include Les Troyens, Adriana
Lecouvreur, and Salome for Covent Garden; The Turn of the Screw, Der Rosenkavalier,
Agrippina, and The Handmaids Tale for English National Opera; Die Meistersinger von
Nrnberg, Giulio Cesare, and Carmen for the Glyndebourne Festival; The Rakes Progress
and La Traviata (also Welsh National Opera) for Scottish Opera; and Der Rosenkavalier for
Scottish Opera and Opera North. He has also choreographed productions for La Scala,
the Netherlands Opera, Berlin State Opera, Salzburg Festival, Frankfurt Opera, Tokyos
New National Theatre, Brusselss La Monnaie, Pariss Thtre des Champs-lyses and
Thtre du Chtelet, Opra National du Rhin, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, among
others, as well as completing work on his third Ring cycle in Strasbourg.
this season

met productions

Visit metopera.org

41

The Cast and Creative Team

CONTINUED

Patricia Bardon
mezzo - soprano (dublin, ireland)

Cornelia in Giulio Cesare at the Met and English National Opera, Calbo in
Rossinis Maometto II for her debut at the Santa Fe Opera, Zenobia in Handels Radamisto
at Viennas Theater an der Wien and on tour with Harry Bicket and the English Concert,
and Lady Rich in Brittens Gloriana at Covent Garden.
met appearances Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried and Cornelia (debut, 2007).
career highlights Saariahos Adriana Mater and the title role of Orlando for the Paris
Opera; the title role of Giulio Cesare and the Nurse in Ariane et Barbe-Bleue in Barcelona;
Andronico in Tamerlano in Los Angeles and with the Washington National Opera; Maria
in Mos in Egitto, Edwige in Guillaume Tell, and Baba the Turk in The Rakes Progress
(Laurence Olivier Award nomination) for Covent Garden; and Azucena in Il Trovatore and
Carmen for Welsh National Opera. She has also sung Rosmira in Partenope for the Lyric
Opera of Chicago, the title role of Rinaldo in Cologne, Penelope in Il Ritorno dUlisse in
Patria with the Berlin State Opera, Angelina in La Cenerentola in Brussels, and Tancredi
and Arsace in Semiramide in Venice.
this season

Alice Coote
mezzo - soprano (cheshire, england)
this season Sesto in Giulio Cesare at the Met, Leonore in La Favorite at Pariss Thtre
des Champs-lyses, and Nicklausse/The Muse in Les Contes dHoffmann with the San
Francisco Opera.
met appearances Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (debut,
2006) and Sesto in Giulio Cesare.
career highlights Cherubino at Covent Garden and with the Scottish Opera, Hansel at
Lyric Opera of Chicago and Covent Garden, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice and Poppea in
LIncoronazione di Poppea at English National Opera, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier in
Geneva, Charlotte in Werther in Frankfurt, Ruggiero in Alcina with San Francisco Opera
and at the Edinburgh Festival, the title role of Ariodante at Pariss Bastille Opera, the
title role of Brittens The Rape of Lucretia at the Salzburg Festival, the Composer in
Ariadne auf Naxos with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Welsh National Opera, Nerone in
LIncoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Festival, and Cherubino, Penelope in Il
Ritorno dUlisse in Patria, and Dorabella in Cos fan tutte at Opera North.

Visit metopera.org

43

MetGiCard

The Perfect Gift for

Opera Lovers!
Met Gi Cards, in five elegant designs, are available
at the box office, in the Met Opera Shop, and online.
Cards may be redeemed for tickets, merchandise,
Met memberships, and more.
Learn more at metopera.org/gicard

The Cast and Creative Team

CONTINUED

Natalie Dessay
soprano (lyon, france)

Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at the Met, Marie in La Fille du Rgiment at Pariss

Bastille Opera, and Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta in Les Contes dHoffmann at the San
Francisco Opera and in Barcelona.
met appearances Lucia di Lammermoor, Violetta in La Traviata, Amina in La Sonnambula,
Marie, the Fiakermilli in Arabella (debut, 1994), Olympia in Les Contes dHoffmann,
Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Juliette in Romo et Juliette.
career highlights She has sung Violetta at the Vienna State Opera and Aix-en-Provence
Festival, Cleopatra and the title role of Manon at the Paris Opera, and Mlisande in
Pellas et Mlisande in Glasgow and at the Theater an der Wien. She has also sung
Amina at La Scala, Lucia with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Paris Opera, Manon
in Chicago and Barcelona, Marie with the Vienna State Opera and at Covent Garden,
and Ophlie in Thomass Hamlet at Covent Garden, Pariss Chtelet, and in Geneva,
Toulouse, and Barcelona.
this season

David Daniels
countertenor (spartanburg , south carolina )

The title role of Giulio Cesare at the Met and Michigan Opera Theatre, the title
role in the world premiere of Theodore Morrisons Oscar at the Santa Fe Opera, Tirinto
in Handels Imeneo at Londons Barbican Hall, and the title role of Handels Radamisto at
Viennas Theater an der Wien and on tour with Harry Bicket and the English Concert.
met appearances Prospero in The Enchanted Island, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice, Giulio
Cesare and Sesto (debut, 1999) in Giulio Cesare, Oberon in Brittens A Midsummer Nights
Dream, and Bertarido in Rodelinda.
career highlights Recent performances include Arsamene in Handels Serse with the
San Francisco Opera; the title role in Handels Rinaldo, Lichas in Handels Hercules,
and Oberon in Chicago; Roberto in Vivaldis Griselda in Santa Fe; and Orfeo with the
Minnesota Opera. He has also sung Arsamene with Houston Grand Opera, Giulio Cesare
at the Glyndebourne Festival, Ottone in LIncoronazione di Poppea in Los Angeles, the
title role of Handels Orlando with Munichs Bavarian State Opera, Arsace in Partenope
and Orfeo in Chicago, and Bertarido in San Francisco.

this season

Visit metopera.org

45

The Cast and Creative Team

CONTINUED

Christophe Dumaux
countertenor (cuiry- ls - chaudardes , france)

Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare at the Met and Paris Opera and Disinganno in
Handels Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at Viennas Theater an der Wien.
met appearances Unulfo in Rodelinda (debut, 2006).
career highlights He has sung Tolomeo at the Paris Opera, in Versailles, and for debuts
in 2012 at the Salzburg Festival and Zurich Opera, the title role of Rinaldo at the
Glyndebourne Festival, the title role of Tamerlano at Charlestons Spoleto Festival, the
title role of Orlando at Pariss Thtre des Champs-lyses, and Ottone in LIncoronazione
di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Festival and in Paris, Geneva, and Madrid. He made his
professional debut in 2002 as Eustazio in Rinaldo in Montpellier and has also sung Hamor
in Handels Jeptha and Apollo in Brittens Death in Venice at the Theater an der Wien and
Unulfo with the Dallas Opera. He appeared in concert performances of Semele and Giulio
Cesare with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli at Pariss Salle Pleyel.
this season

PHOTO: ANNEMARIE HEINRICH/MET OPERA ARCHIVES

Remembering Ris Stevens

June 11, 1913March 20, 2013
Shortly after this issue of Playbill had gone
to press, the Met family was saddened by
the news of the death of mezzo-soprano
Ris Stevens, just shy of her 100th birthday
(an event we were looking forward to
celebrating in the front of this program).

A consummate artist, treasured colleague,

and devoted supporter of the company for
75years, Stevens sang 337 performances with
the Met, most frequently in the title role of
Carmen and as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier (pictured). After her retirement
from the stage in 1961, she continued her work as a tireless advocate for both the
company and for opera as an art form, serving as director of the Metropolitan
Opera National Company and of the National Council Auditions, advisor
to the Young Artist Development Program, and a managing director on the
Mets board. We extend our sincerest condolences to her family and her many
friends and admirers.

46