11.05.2022

SABINE DEVIEILHE als Cleopatra in Händels "Giulio Cesare"

After her great success as Morgana in Handel’s Alcina, Sabine Devieilhe now returns to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées for another great Handel opera, singing Cleopatra in his masterwork Giulio Cesare.

Director Damiano Michieletto makes his debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with a new production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto. Gaëlle Arquez takes on the title role, Sabine Devieilhe sings Cleopatra for the first time, Franco Fagioli embodies Sesto and Carlo Vistoli the role of Tolomeo. The baroque ensemble Artaserse performs under Philippe Jaroussky’s baton.

“Handel is a master of theatre, a master of creating emotions,” says Devieilhe. “We don’t know how intense his personal life really was. But his ability to describe the torments of a woman, for example, is fascinating. The aria of Cleopatra in the opera Giulio Cesare, ‘Se pietà di me non senti’, is exemplary: he portrays both her great strength and her desperation.”

Her interpretations are compelling not only for their beauty of tone, but also her supreme sense of drama and profound respect for score and text. Sabine Devieilhe’s ethereal, yet colourful and substantial coloratura soprano is a perfect fit for Handel’s great opera figures. She draws upon a rich palette of colour and emotion: from hyper-sensitive and vulnerable to a spiritual strength that is all her own, from infatuation to desperation and revenge.