Going for Baroque

"What passion cannot music raise and quell?" It's a question Dryden asked centuries ago, as relevant in today's rap lyrics as in the vocal and instrumental curlicues of the Baroque era: joys, hopes, sorrows and fears can all be expressed in verse. Some 200 years before Mozart, 400 years before 50 Cent, Eminem and Three 6 Mafia, Handel was laying the groundwork.

The big story's supposed to be Ewa Podles, a majestic Polish contralto of great warmth whose impressive Adalgisa (in Bellini's Norma four years ago) won her the title of Seattle Opera Artist of the Year. She's supposed to be the reason the company is putting on the current production of Handel's Julius Caesar.

But there's an even better reason: Alexandra Deshorties. We adored her exquisite soprano voice last year in Cosi Fan Tutte, as her Fiordiligi resolves to be faithful "like a rock," then crumbles. Now, as Cleopatra, she has a series of arias that run from laments (basically, "It's Hard Out There for a Queen") to strife ("Not Ready to Make Nice") to triumph ("Dreamgirls").

Julius Caesar is as old-fashioned as opera can get, with stylized staging and ornate singing. Yet it's refreshingly contemporary: a leering villain with an unsettling message ("Love the heart that worships you"), over-the-top vocalizations and a joyful happy ending. Think "Egyptian Idol" and you won't be too far off the mark.

Photo © Bill Mohn

Seattle Opera presents Julius Caesar through March 10. Tickets online or 206-389-7676.