Review: Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Hudson Hall

Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Hudson Hall was the third opera I’ve ever seen. The other two operas were Rodelinda and The Mother of Us All, both at Hudson Hall and both produced by R.B. Schlather. How can anyone write an opera review, when the only three operas they have as reference were all produced in the same space and by same director?

The answer is, you can’t.

You send people to the New York Times review, which will give you, the reader, a better understanding of Giulio Cesare‘s music, staging and costumes, and how it relates to similar work.

Giulio Cesare is at Hudson Hall until May 2nd. There are a few people in the cast I know because I see them buying cookies and broccoli at the Farmers’ Market every week. When a Handel baroque opera is right around the corner from my house, cast with people I know, how could I not go?

I remember the Opera House twenty years ago. I remember the condition of the space. Throughout the years, there have been fundraisers, grants, and a lot of toil. Hudson Hall has produced a wide variety of community events, including Winter Walk, the Jazz Festival, children’s programs, and even a John Waters’ movie night.

When Cleopatra, soprano Song Hee Lee, covered in mud and dust, rose amongst the baroque ensemble, Ruckus, it was not only awe-inspiring listening to her voice and seeing her in a Terese Wadden’s slinky, glittering Tina Turner-style miniskirt (NYT), but it was also a symbol of the determination of Hudson Hall’s staff and board.

This production is the culmination not only of a talented cast’s work, but also the culmination of years – decades – of work by countless people who created a space for an artistic community.

My heart swelled with pride.

In our little city, we are blessed with those who can produce a delightful spectacle, such as Handel’s Giulio Cesare, just a few blocks away.

During intermission, a friend and I looked over a room filled with hundreds of people, in the middle of Hudson, watching an opera on a Wednesday afternoon. Hudson may no longer produce pocketbooks at the Pocketbook Factory, but an opera can still be produced at Hudson Hall, the former opera house. There is so much hope for the future.

I felt honored just to be in the room.

If you can see it, go. If there’s a talk back afterwards, stick around. The opera’s themes of power, tyranny, and the role of women in society are just as relevant today as they were three hundred years ago. The costumes were fun; the actors were sexy. There’s action, adventure, lust, jealousy and backstabbing (sometimes literally).

The cast and crew all need to be commended for their work. Thank you, everyone. Thank you to the main actors, Randall Scotting as Cesare and Song Hee Lee as Cleopatra – you were captivating and your voices phenomenal. Thank you to Chuanyuan Liu as Tolomeo and Douglas Ray Williams as Achilla – every good story needs a good villain and you both brought a sense of realism to the roles that helped connect the audience. Meridian Prall as Cornelia and Raha Mirzadegan as Sesto have an amazing blindfolded duet. Matthew Deming as Nireno – loved you and the ascot. Rolfe Dauz as Curio was incredible. Thank you for the magnificent performance, Ruckus, the show’s baroque ensemble. And thank you Davon, for adding a sense of joy and playfulness to ancient Rome’s conquest of Egypt.

Thank you R.B. Schlather, for giving us the airport newsstand swashbuckle paperback novel, in the form of a Handel baroque opera, that we needed and may not have read otherwise. We are lucky to have you here in Hudson.

Tickets available. Click here.