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Opera in the Repertoire · Baroque

Giulio Cesare

Music by George Frideric Handel · libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym · premiered 1724 · at His Majesty's Theatre

Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Italian: [ˈdʒuːljo ˈtʃeːzare in eˈdʒitto, - ˈtʃɛː-]; lit. 'Julius Caesar in Egypt'; HWV 17), commonly known as Giulio Cesare, is a dramma per musica (opera seria) in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym who used an earlier libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani, which had been set to music by Antonio Sartorio (1676). The opera was a success at its first performances, was frequently revived by Handel in his subsequent opera seasons and is now one of the most often performed Baroque operas. The opera's plot is loosely based on historical events during the Roman Civil War of 49–45 BC.

Text from the Wikipedia article "Giulio Cesare", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the Composer

George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( HAN-dəl; baptised Georg Fried[e]rich Händel, German: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈhɛndl̩] ; 5 March [O.S. 23 February] 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Handel spent his early life in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian…

Text from the Wikipedia article "George Frideric Handel", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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