''Cesare e Cleopatra'' is a

dramma per musica Dramma per musica (Italian, literally: ''drama for music'', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is a libretto. The term was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries. In modern times the same meaning of ''dra ...

in three acts by composer

Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbrüc ...

. The opera uses an Italian-language

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Giovan Gualberto Bottarelli.

Performances

It was commissioned by

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

for the opening of the newly built ''Königliches Opernhaus'' (Royal Opera House) in Berlin, and was notably the inaugural performance of the newly formed

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

. Although construction of the opera house was not entirely complete, the opera premiered in the new theatre using a German language translation on 7 December 1742 under the baton of the composer. The production starred

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Maria Giovanna Gasparini as

Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

and

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

Paolo Bedeschi as

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

Recordings

* 1992 on the Serenissima label (360171), live: Jacobs/Williams-J/Dawson/Beronesi/Popken/Francis/Rayam/Trekel * 1995 on the HM label (mis-titled "Cleopatra e Cesare"):

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

; Janet Williams (Cleopatra),

Iris Vermillion Iris Vermillion (born 1960) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1988, she has enjoyed an international career, appearing in Amsterdam with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and at the Salzburg Festival, among others. ...

(Cesare),

Lynne Dawson Lynne Dawson (born 3 June 1953) is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in ''Libera me'' from Requiem (Verdi), Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's Funeral of Diana, Princess o ...

(Cornelia),

Robert Gambill Robert Gambill (born March 31, 1955 in Indianapolis) is an opera singer (Heldentenor). Biography Gambill studied mathematics at Purdue University (1973-1976) before becoming an exchange student at Hamburg University in Germany, where he ad ...

(Tolomeo), Ralf Popken (Arsace),

Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...

(Lentulo), Klaus Häger (Achilla),

Elisabeth Scholl Elisabeth Scholl (born 1966 in Kiedrich) is a German soprano and academic teacher. Career Elisabeth Scholl was the first girl to sing with the boys choir Kiedricher Chorbuben. From 1982 to 1987 she sang the role of the First Boy in Mozart's '' ...

(Cneo),

María Cristina Kiehr María Cristina Kiehr (born in Tandil, Argentina) is a soprano vocalist associated with Baroque music. After receiving her early musical training in Argentina, she moved in 1983 to Europe and studied under René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basil ...

(Sesto).

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public bro ...

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly o ...

. Recorded Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem April–May 1995. * 2017 on the Sony label: Cleopatra e Cesare, WV B:I:7: Tra le procelle assorto (Aria) ·

Regula Mühlemann Regula Mühlemann (born 7 January 1986) is a Swiss operatic soprano. Biography Mühlemann was born in Adligenswil, Switzerland, and studied voice with Barbara Locher at the Academy of Music in Lucerne in 2010, where she graduated with honors w ...

· Carl Heinrich Graun ·

La Folia Barockorchester The La Folia Barockorchester is a Baroque orchestra dedicated to historically informed performance. It was founded in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, in 2007 by Robin Peter Müller, who has been its artistic director and concert master. Named after "L ...

· Robin Peter Müller

References

{{authority control 1742 operas Italian-language operas Operas Operas by Carl Heinrich Graun Opera world premieres at the Berlin State Opera Depictions of Cleopatra in opera Depictions of Julius Caesar in opera