Uneven “˜Giulio Cesare’ offers mixed bag of performances

Los Angeles Opera David Daniels and
Elizabeth Futral play Caesar and Cleopatra in Los
Angeles Opera’s production of Handel’s "Giulio Cesare" at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

By John Mangum
Daily Bruin Contributor

Los Angeles Opera’s “Giulio Cesare” has a
split personality.

Their latest production, which was unveiled last Friday at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, juxtaposed several accomplished
performances alongside a few disappointing ones. The staging itself
went from delightful at one moment to infuriating the next. It was
a night of ups and downs.

Eighteenth-century composer George Frideric Handel’s score
was glorious, exactly what one would expect from the man who wrote
one of classical music’s most rousing numbers, the
“Hallelujah” chorus.

Handel’s opera follows Caesar through a maze of romantic
and political intrigue in Egypt after he defeats his rival, Pompey,
in battle. Ptolemy, co-ruler of Egypt with his sister Cleopatra,
execute Pompey and give his head to Caesar as a welcome gift. This
sets events in motion, with all the characters aligning against
Ptolemy, driven alternately by lust, grief, or opportunism. The
opera ends with Ptolemy’s death and the triumph of Caesar and
Cleopatra.

The L.A. Opera’s orchestra provided a splendid performance
of Handel’s score under conductor Harry Bicket. Bicket, a
rising star on the international music scene, coaxed a captivating
performance from the orchestra, among whom violinist James Stark
and principal horn Steven Becknell deserve special mention for
delivering two of Handel’s taxing instrumental solos with
aplomb.

The cast was a mixed bag. Soprano Elizabeth Futral delivered a
vocally resplendent performance as Cleopatra, with an alluring
stage presence. In Futral’s hands, the character transformed
from a coquettish seductress to a regal queen. Futral gave a
show-stopping rendition of Cleopatra’s final triumphant aria,
making it simultaneously powerful and agile.

L.A. Opera regular Suzanna Guzmàn, as the beheaded
Pompey’s despondent wife Cornelia, gave the character the air
of a 19th-century tragic heroine. Her singing was noble and
accomplished.

As Cornelia’s son Sextus, mezzo-soprano Paula Rasmussen
returned following her appearance in last season’s
“Hansel and Gretel.” Her powerful singing reverberated
through the theater but she also scaled her voice down beautifully
when the music required it, as in Sextus’ ravishing aria in
Act One.

The size of the theater provided a daunting challenge to the men
in the cast, a challenge not all of them met. Among the much-hyped
three countertenors, Bejun Mehta delivered the best performance as
the evil Ptolemy. Mehta’s singing was dramatic and powerful,
filled with the venom of his character.

In the title role, David Daniels was disappointing. His L.A.
Opera debut was much-anticipated but failed to live up to
expectations created by the fanfare of rave reviews and recordings
preceding his arrival.

Daniels’ voice, though agile, sounded small in the
3,000-plus seat Chandler Pavilion, and he could not provide a
dramatic presence on the stage. Silly costumes (including a kind of
leisure suit/army uniform and a gleaming silver turtle-shell of a
breastplate) only made him seem less Caesar-esque. To give Daniels
the benefit of the doubt, however, he stepped down for
Sunday’s performance because of an infected vocal cord, and
this probably accounts for his disappointing showing Friday
night.

The final countertenor, David Walker, commanded the stage as
Nirenus, Cleopatra’s confidante who, in this production, was
rendered as a sort of elfin genie nudging the characters in the
right direction. However, his voice lacked the distinction of his
stage presence and his single aria was a disappointment.

There were some great moments in director Francisco
Negrin’s production, such as the interplay between Cleopatra
and Ptolemy during their first scene together and the ritual
solemnity of Cornelia’s scene at Pompey’s tomb. But
there were also moments that interrupted the music, unnecessarily
moving characters around the stage in a way that duped the audience
into thinking an aria was over and applauding just as the singer
was warming up.

The production placed the cast in two different sorts of sets.
The first, an austere unit set, decorated with hieroglyphs on one
side and a plain gray texture on the other, provided an unobtrusive
background against which events could unfold. The second kind,
accented by Cleopatra’s bath and Ptolemy’s harem,
looked slightly shabby, appearing to need a new coat of paint.

Overall, the performance vacillated between the sublime and the
exasperating. L.A. Opera’s “Caesar” is worth
investigating, especially for anyone interested in 18th-century
music or something off the beaten path.

OPERA: L.A. Opera presents Handel’s
“Julius Caesar” March 2, 4, 7, and 10. $20 student and
senior rush tickets available one hour prior to curtain. For
information, call (213) 972-8001 or visit www.laopera.org.