Giulio Cesare in Egitto album review – Sabine Devieilhe’s exquisite Cleopatra could make stones weep

Orliński/Devieilhe/Il Pomo d’Oro/Corti(Erato)Francesco Corti keeps the drama on the boil in this period instrument recording of Handel’s opera, with herculean feats of vocal dexterity by Jakub Józef Orliński in the title role – but it’s Sabine Devieilhe’s breathtaking queen who steals the show

Giulio Cesare is Handel’s most popular opera with at least 15 versions in the current catalogue, several of them historical. This new recording by period instrument band Il Pomo d’Oro comes off the back of a European tour, thus benefiting from the experience of live performances. A lived-in quality is palpable here, from the frisson of emotional risk-taking to imaginatively decorated da capo sections.

Leading from the keyboard, Francesco Corti keeps the drama on the boil, especially in recitatives where his resonant harpsichord sits comfortably in the mix. Timings are similar to Harry Bicket’s recent recording on Linn, but Corti invariably feels faster.

He’s aided by a caution-to-the-wind performance from Jakub Józef Orliński. If his tuning comes a little unstuck at times, the Polish countertenor’s Cesare conveys authority and impetuosity in equal measure. He’s at his most compelling in the great “hunting” aria, Va tacito e nascosto, shadowed by the orchestra’s natural hornist, Christian Binde; Al lampo dell’armi finds him executing herculean feats of vocal dexterity.

Among a fine supporting cast, Beth Taylor’s velvet-cushioned mezzo-soprano plumbs the depths of Cornelia’s anguish with Rebecca Leggett a bright, determined Sesto. Yuriy Mynenko switches registers left, right and centre as an especially unhinged Tolomeo and Alex Rosen is an imposing, almost noble Achilla. But it’s Sabine Devieilhe’s elegant Cleopatra that crowns this set, haughty, sensual, cheeky and desolate by turns. V’adoro, pupille is exquisitely phrased with breathtaking pianissimos, while her Piangerò la sorte mia could make stones weep.

Listen on Apple Music (above) or Spotify