Baroque opera by Georg Friedrich Handel

The powerful ruler and military commander Julius Caesar goes on a military expedition to Egypt, where he meets 19-year-old Cleopatra and falls in love with her. Cleopatra, who wants to become the ruler of Egypt, decides to seduce the conqueror with the help of the emperor and get the throne with the help of Caesar. The plan is perfect, but it has one fatal flaw: it hasn’t occurred to her that she might fall in love. In the midst of war, intrigue and chaos, love blossoms between Cleopatra and Caesar.

Georg Friedrich Handel’s opera “Julius Caesar”, which premiered in 1724 in London, is considered the pearl of baroque operas that has stood the test of time and is still often performed on the stages of opera houses. The Vanemuine Theater performs “Julius Caesar” for the first time.

Handel’s age was the golden age of operatic castrati. Also in the opera “Julius Caesar” there are many roles intended for castrati. These roles can nowadays be sung by either countertenors or female voices. For the first time in the history of Estonian musical theater, three Estonian countertenors will sing in the main roles: Martin Karu, Ivo Posti and Ka Bo Chan, who has been living in Estonia for 30 years. In the second line-up, instead of countertenors, there are female voices: Sandra Laagus, Annaliisa Pillak and Karis Trass from the Estonian National Opera. Ideally, it could be a completely different operatic experience.