DVD Videos

“Though all of the performances are delivered with some intelligence Negine fails to draw much in the way of intensity from any of his singers, either individually or in confrontation. …any DVD Caesar has to measure itself against Glyndebourne's (on Opus Arte), which is going to take some beating.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ***

“This is certainly the most insightful and intelligent for drama, and probably also the best for all-round musical consistency” Gramophone Magazine

“Francisco Negrin's production, though not without judiciously applied humour in a few places, is essentially of a serious nature (and more so than his lighter and brighter Sydney production, reviewed above). Unsurprisingly, this sympathetic approach suits Handel's operaseria to a tee. There are neither damaging large cuts nor ill-advised reordering of movements, and Negrin's ideas fully support the musico-dramatic nature of the characters as presented in the libretto and score. The modernistic setting laced with elements of ancient Egypt provides the platform for a dark and brooding drama.
Where some directors use tricks to amuse the audience, Negrin uses visual playfulness to illustrate a serious point about the characters (such as the contest between elevating thrones in 'Va tacito'). It is refreshing that at the end there is little doubt that the good guys have triumphed: Sesto is caked in Tolomeo's blood, which seems to mark his coming of age in a brutal world, but there is no attempt made to ridicule the victorious leading characters, who fully deserve their happy ending.
Andreas Scholl's singing is consistently astute, and his acting has advanced considerably in subtlety since his operatic debut in Glyndebourne's Rodelinda nearly a decade ago. However, this is an excellent team performance.
Inger Dam-Jensen performs with the ideal sincerity and emotiveness that Cleopatra's character too often lacks in superficial productions.
Tuva Semmingsen's Sesto sings with crystalclear phrasing ('Cara speme' is heart-stopping).
Christopher Robson's singing is weak but his acting as the nasty Tolomeo is superb in its timing of gestures (there is plenty of comedy in his scenes, but he is brutal and menacing rather than the simply camp idiot too often portrayed onstage). Lars Ulrik Mortensen's direction of the music from his harpsichord is well nigh perfect.
This is not the most flamboyant or fancy Giulio Cesare on DVD, but it is certainly the most insightful and intelligent for drama, and probably also the best for all-round musical consistency.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010