GIULIO CESARE

David Daniels and Natalie Dessay star as Caesar and Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare

David Daniels and Natalie Dessay star in David McVicar’s innovative production of Handel’s most popular opera. The staging, a hit at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2005, comes to the Met for the first time with its clever blend of dramatic storytelling and witty touches, including extensive choreography by Andrew George. Baroque specialist Harry Bicket leads an extraordinary cast that also includes Alice Coote in the trouser role of the Roman youth Sesto, Guido Loconsolo as the scheming Egyptian general Achilla, John Moore as the Roman general Curio, and three stars of McVicar’s original Glyndebourne production: Patricia Bardon as the Roman widow Cornelia, Sesto’s stepmother; Christophe Dumaux as Tolomeo, Cleopatra’s brother and co-ruler; and Rachid Ben Abdeslam as the Egyptian servant Nireno.