Christophe Dumaux

Triumphantly premiered in 1724 at the King's Theatre in London, George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto masterfully combines human emotions: Triumph with sorrow, despair with happiness and love with profound melancholy in the face of the transience of all earthly life. Star director Keith Warner creates a production that imaginatively blends silent film and baroque opera, delightfully echoing Mankiewicz's legendary Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. An excellent cast of singers is led by two of the world's leading countertenors: Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumaux. Louise Alder shines as the seductive Cleopatra. Patricia Bardon, Simon Bailey and Jake Arditti are further highlights in this extraordinary group of singers, while Ivor Bolton provides the appropriate soundtrack on the podium of the Concentus Musicus Wien.

At Salzburg Festival, Cecilia Bartoli shines as Ariodante with her dazzling coloratura in a highly acclaimed new production by the German director Christoph Loy, who is known for his clever psychological stagings. Loy turns Handel's splendid baroque opera into an exciting and differentiated reflection on gender roles.

It is a work charged with jealousy and intrigue, with struggles and betrayal: Ariodante, Handel’s first work for the then brand new Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. At that time, the composer was faced with fierce competition, was financially stricken and on the rocks. However, he plucked up his courage while taking the waters and wrote the opera, basing it on Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso. And he composed varied, colourful music, including the intimate aria “Scherza infida”, which is considered one of the special highlights of Handel’s oeuvre to this day.

Live performance 10 February 2011 at the Palais Garnier. Emmanuelle Haïm conducting Le Concert d'Astrée and les Choeurs de l'Opéra national de Paris. Directed for stage by Laurent Pelly.

David McVicar’s production of Giulio Cesare manages to combine serious insight with entertainment, bringing Handel's masterpiece to life in a powerful, convincing and highly intelligent way. ln every line of the complex narrative the subtle nuances are apparent, reflecting perfectly the transparent and exquisite nature of Handel's musical expression. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound, the outstanding singing of the all-star cast, led superbly by Sarah Connolly, and the vivid playing of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the energising baton of William Christie reveal the colour and dramatic character of Handel’s music in a most delightful manner.

La production à succès inventive de David McVicar de l'opéra le plus populaire de Haendel raconte l'histoire de la conquête de l'Égypte par César - et de sa reine, Cléopâtre - à l'ère de l'impérialisme britannique du XIXe siècle, tout en incluant des éléments du théâtre baroque et des films de Bollywood. David Daniels dans le rôle-titre et Natalie Dessay dans le rôle de Cléopâtre dirigent le casting. Christophe Dumaux est Ptolémée, le frère de Cléopâtre, et Alice Coote et Patricia Bardon incarnent Sesto et Cornelia, fils et veuve de Pompée, l'adversaire de César. Le spécialiste de la musique ancienne Harry Bicket dirige et joue le continuo de clavecin.

A superb adaptation of Purcell's the Indian Queen, staged and directed by Peter Sellars and performed in 2013 at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Peters Sellars combines John Dryden and Robert Howard's libretto with a short-story written by the Nicaraguan writer Rosario Aguilar, La niña blanca y los pájaros sin pies.

This is the World Première Recording on DVD of Cavalli’s opera Il Giasone. The plot is loosely based on the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, but the opera contains many comic elements too. This 2010 production from Antwerp is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clément, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising French countertenor Christophe Dumaux.

In Tamerlano, Handel defied rules both written and tacit—offering a main role to a mature tenor at a time when the castrato voice dominated; and not shying away from shocking scenes that other composers approached hesitantly, like suicide. Pierre Audi’s elegant, minimalist staging allows an all-star cast of singers to highlight the work’s many dramatic elements, proving that Baroque opera can still move and thrill us as it did 300 years ago!

Directed by Uffe Borgwardt. Starring Inger Dam-Jensen, Christophe Dumaux, Andreas Scholl.