Cleopatra: Arias from Giulio Cesare cover

Cleopatra: Arias from Giulio Cesare

George Frideric Handel · 2011

65 min · 19 tracks · classical music

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Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

73 /100
Treeline
Higher than 66% of albums we've rated

Handel’s arias give the recital strong melodic and dramatic contrast, while the selected-scene format and familiar Baroque idiom limit its identity as a standalone album.

What we noticed

  • The program opens with the opera’s overture, then moves through selected Cleopatra scenes rather than following the full opera from beginning to end.
  • Recitatives repeatedly lead straight into arias, including the paired Act II numbers “Se pietà di me non senti” and “Per dar vita all’idol mio.”
  • Two instrumental sinfonias interrupt the vocal sequence; the program closes with the Act III recitative and Caesar-and-Cleopatra duet.
Composition 25% of the score
8/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
7/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
7/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
5/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
7/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 2/10

Little footprint beyond its audience. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

  • 1 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Ouverture 2:41
  • 2 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto I, Scena VII. Aria "Tutto può donna vezzosa" (Cleopatra) 4:57
  • 3 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena II. Recitativo “Taci! Che fia?” (Cesare, Cleopatra) 1:46
  • 4 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena II. Aria “V’adoro, pupille” (Cleopatra, Cesare) 5:06
  • 5 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena VII. Recitativo “Esser qui deve in breve” (Cleopatra) 0:34
  • 6 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena VII. Aria “Venere bella” (Cleopatra) 5:02
  • 7 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena VIII. Recitativo accompagnato “Che sento? Oh dio!” (Cleopatra) 0:49
  • 8 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena VIII. Aria “Se pietà di me non senti” (Cleopatra) 9:08
  • 9 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II, Scena VIII. Aria “Per dar vita all’idol mio” (Cleopatra) 3:57
  • 10 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto II. Sinfonia bellica 1:11
  • 11 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena III. Recitativo “E pur così in un giorno” (Cleopatra) 0:37
  • 12 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena III. Aria “Piengerò la sorte mia” (Cleopatra) 6:29
  • 13 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena III. Aria “Troppo crudeli siete” (Cleopatra) 6:20
  • 14 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena VII. Recitativo accompagnato “Voi che mie fide ancelle” (Cleopatra) 1:41
  • 15 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena VII. Recitativo “Forzai l’ingresso a tua salvezza, o cara!” (Cesare, Cleopatra) 0:45
  • 16 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena VII. Aria “Da tempeste il legno infranto” (Cleopatra) 5:54
  • 17 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III. Sinfonia 2:45
  • 18 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena ultima. Recitativo “Bellissima Cleopatra” (Cesare, Cleopatra) 0:43
  • 19 Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Atto III, Scena ultima. Duetto “Caro! Bella!” (Cleopatra, Cesare) 4:56

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Reference: MusicBrainz