Giulio Cesare in Egitto - Schedule, Program & Tickets
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Date:
Time:
Location:
28.04.2026 , Tuesday
18:30
Deutsche Oper, Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin, Germany
Seating plan
Dramma per musica in three acts
Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym after Giacomo Francesco Bussani's "Giulio Cesare in Egitto"
World premiere on February 20, 1724, at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, London
Premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera on July 3, 2005
Premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on April 25, 2026
4 hours 30 minutes / Two intervals
Sung in Italian with German and English surtitles
45 minutes before performance: Introduction in the right-hand corner of the foyer
Recommended for ages 13 and up
Deepest moral outrage sits side by side with strategically deployed coquettishness, the despair of defenseless refugees is entangled in the machinations of the powerful – perhaps no other Baroque opera offers such a broad spectrum of human emotions and behavior as Handel's did in London in 1724 GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO premiered. Already one of Handel's greatest successes during his lifetime, the piece about the love between the aging Roman general Julius Caesar and the young pharaoh Cleopatra remains Handel's most frequently performed opera to this day. This is not only due to the fact that the underlying story is one of the most famous historical love stories of all time, and has been embellished in countless ways by everyone from Shakespeare to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton to "Asterix and Cleopatra," but also due to the sophisticated libretto, which inspired Handel to create a whole series of hit arias and exceptionally memorable character portraits. For in addition to the Roman-Egyptian lovers Caesar and Cleopatra, GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO features a second pair of characters whose focus is not on flirting, but on sheer survival: Cornelia, the widow of Caesar's murdered adversary Pompey, and her son Sesto, who have sought refuge in Egypt but become pawns in the power struggle between Cleopatra and her brother Tolomeo.
The Deutsche Oper Berlin presents GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO in the acclaimed production by Scottish director David McVicar, which was developed at the Glyndebourne Festival Hall and also presented at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. McVicar utilizes elements of baroque soffit theater to unfold a diverse play that allows room for great tragic emotions, but also savors Cleopatra's advances toward the strong man from Rome with charm and humor.
Spotlight
Ileana Cotrubas had the right instinct: The famous Romanian soprano resolutely took her young colleague from North Ossetia, Elena Tsallagova, under her wing after being convinced of her exceptional talent. This evidently helped, as Tsallagova was soon able to make her debut not only at the Paris Opéra, but also, via Munich, join the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Over the past 15 years, she has not only presented a broad repertoire from Mozart to Verdi and Meyerbeer to Zemlinsky, but has also demonstrated an almost unrivaled versatility as a performer, most recently as Zdenko/Zdenka in Tobias Kratzer's acclaimed production of ARABELLA. As Handel's Cleopatra, she now showcases a new facet of her talent in the Baroque repertoire.
Subject to change.
Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym after Giacomo Francesco Bussani's "Giulio Cesare in Egitto"
World premiere on February 20, 1724, at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, London
Premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera on July 3, 2005
Premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on April 25, 2026
4 hours 30 minutes / Two intervals
Sung in Italian with German and English surtitles
45 minutes before performance: Introduction in the right-hand corner of the foyer
Recommended for ages 13 and up
Deepest moral outrage sits side by side with strategically deployed coquettishness, the despair of defenseless refugees is entangled in the machinations of the powerful – perhaps no other Baroque opera offers such a broad spectrum of human emotions and behavior as Handel's did in London in 1724 GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO premiered. Already one of Handel's greatest successes during his lifetime, the piece about the love between the aging Roman general Julius Caesar and the young pharaoh Cleopatra remains Handel's most frequently performed opera to this day. This is not only due to the fact that the underlying story is one of the most famous historical love stories of all time, and has been embellished in countless ways by everyone from Shakespeare to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton to "Asterix and Cleopatra," but also due to the sophisticated libretto, which inspired Handel to create a whole series of hit arias and exceptionally memorable character portraits. For in addition to the Roman-Egyptian lovers Caesar and Cleopatra, GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO features a second pair of characters whose focus is not on flirting, but on sheer survival: Cornelia, the widow of Caesar's murdered adversary Pompey, and her son Sesto, who have sought refuge in Egypt but become pawns in the power struggle between Cleopatra and her brother Tolomeo.
The Deutsche Oper Berlin presents GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO in the acclaimed production by Scottish director David McVicar, which was developed at the Glyndebourne Festival Hall and also presented at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. McVicar utilizes elements of baroque soffit theater to unfold a diverse play that allows room for great tragic emotions, but also savors Cleopatra's advances toward the strong man from Rome with charm and humor.
Spotlight
Ileana Cotrubas had the right instinct: The famous Romanian soprano resolutely took her young colleague from North Ossetia, Elena Tsallagova, under her wing after being convinced of her exceptional talent. This evidently helped, as Tsallagova was soon able to make her debut not only at the Paris Opéra, but also, via Munich, join the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Over the past 15 years, she has not only presented a broad repertoire from Mozart to Verdi and Meyerbeer to Zemlinsky, but has also demonstrated an almost unrivaled versatility as a performer, most recently as Zdenko/Zdenka in Tobias Kratzer's acclaimed production of ARABELLA. As Handel's Cleopatra, she now showcases a new facet of her talent in the Baroque repertoire.
Subject to change.