In this interview, producer Leo Muscato describes his ideas behind “Cesare”. For him, it is an opera where war is, in a way, too superficial compared to the reality and where costumes are abstractions.
What is unique about this opera?
Its plot is very dramatic and compact. The entire temporal structure creates a sense of urgency and unique intensity, with events unfolding rapidly, increasing the tension and emotional engagement of the audience. It is already clear from the premise of this story. After defeating Pompey, Caesar arrives in Alexandria, Egypt, where Pompey had taken refuge. But here he immediately discovers that Ptolemy, the young and ambitious Egyptian leader, thinking to please him, had Pompey executed by Achilla, his counselor and armed enforcer. To honor the Roman general, he orders his henchman to decapitate Pompey and present the head to the Roman general. Disgusted by Ptolemy's cruelty, Caesar vows to destroy all of Egypt; but immediately afterward - determined to establish control and restore order - he decides to use more diplomatic means. When Cornelia, Pompey's wife, sees her husband's severed head, she nearly loses her reason, and all her pain and desire for revenge first pour out on Caesar and then on Ptolemy, who loves her and hopes to marry her. Cleopatra, Ptolemy's sister, cunningly maneuvers to ascend to the throne herself rather than her brother: she orders Achilla, who is secretly in love with her, to kill her brother and in return promises her hand in marriage. She seduces Caesar, with the idea of marrying him and thus becoming queen of two realms. Ptolemy is obviously unaware of his sister's plot; he is focused exclusively on winning Cornelia's heart and convincing her to marry him. Even the Roman Lepidus, a loyal friend of Pompey, is in love with Cornelia; he too declares his love and asks her to marry him. Sesto, the young son of Pompey and Cornelia, is a vulnerable child in a dangerous environment and at one point becomes a bargaining chip between Ptolemy and Cornelia.
Shouldn't the theater also be a refuge from the (often harsh) reality? To what extent can an opera with material like "Caesar" offer this?
I'm not sure that the theater should represent a refuge from reality. Some time ago, in a children's book, I found a definition of Theater that continues to resonate in my head:
"The theater is the most important place in the world, because it is there that people are shown what they could be if they wanted to, what they would like to be if they dared, and what they really are."
I began to study this opera at a time when all the news was continuously talking about the two conflicts that were (and are) afflicting this part of the world. And I was at a time when I was planning three shows that had their thematic core in war. But all three operas dealt with the war in a way that was too superficial compared to the reality that was being thrown in our faces every day. In Caesar, the conflicts are all linked to amorous feelings and the redefinition of powers, because, as Hannah Arendt said: "War does not restore rights. It redefines powers." And the sudden and absurd happy ending that comes at the end is the ultimate attestation of the impossibility of taking this war too seriously, because reality manages to invent more unpredictable endings.
What is the biggest challenge of this opera?
The biggest challenge in staging "Caesar" is to present it in a way that immediately captivates the audience, encouraging a rediscovery of [Geminiano] Giacomelli after nearly three centuries of obscurity.
All the characters have resonant names; they evoke historical figures that are part of the contemporary public's collective imagination, yet they are involved in events that have no affinity with verified historical facts, mainly because historical accuracy was not a priority at the time.
This is why in designing this production, my team and I have steered clear of the temptation to historicize the opera, instead envisioning characters that almost serve as archetypes for today's audience. Given the fragmented structure of Baroque that maintains a homogeneous rhythm marked by alternating recitative and aria, we have tried to create a visual structure that generates much more apparent emotional tension. All the action unfolds over just a few hours, with all characters experiencing what is probably the longest and hardest day of their lives.
Andrea Belli is responsible for the scenography. What is your common intent? What role do they play within the narrative?
In my productions, the creation of scenography, costumes, and lighting always occurs together. The creative processes of the individuals are always the fruit of lengthy analyses made in a group. It's a continuous brainstorming session during which we talk a lot and gather visual suggestions that can help us create the archetypal world we need for the story we decide to tell. In this case, the archetypes were two: on one side, the Egyptian and Roman antiquity; on the other, the military occupation by an occupying army. We tried to synthesize these two archetypes with two scenic elements. We imagined ancient Egypt as a labyrinth of walls built with thick stone blocks, engraved with hieroglyphics that allude to a distant time. These continuously moving walls create a chaos of environments with different but very similar perspectives: corners, angles, narrows, corridors, doors, rooms, ensuring that each spectator can see only part of the environment, the rest is left to their imagination. The whole space alludes almost to the remains of an archaeological site, but it is acted upon by people who live it as if it were different rooms of a Royal apartment.
Soldiers five meters high surround small walls. The invaders in the production have a dominant appearance: can you tell us about your intention to create an imbalance of power?
The archetype of the occupying army gave us more to think about because it seemed to us that we needed many more people to credibly tell the story of a country's occupation. Then we thought that we should not give in to the temptation to create realistic worlds, because that is not specific to Baroque theater. That army also had to be evocative. Hence the idea of this "army of giants" that surround all of "Egypt" and overshadow it. The difficult choice was what shape to give these "giants". We wanted it to be clear that this invading army was militarily much, much stronger than the invaded people. We couldn't decide whether to make them identical to the uniforms of the "flesh and blood invading soldiers we see on stage, therefore super-equipped and armed; or to abstract them and make them even more evocative. The path of abstraction won, because the first one we could have evoked through action anyway.
Giovanna Fiorentini is responsible for the costumes. What is your common intention? What role do the costumes play?
The costumes of this "Caesar" are crucial for defining the setting and the characters.
The military uniforms of the occupying army have a contemporary cut, reminiscent of those super-equipped assault troops. They are also abstractions, because they are anything but mimetic: they are as red as blood and as the predominant color of Roman legionaries. But the Egyptians are also military, and with them, we have invented more elegant uniforms, almost like ceremonial uniforms, in white that evokes a more exotic world. And, once again, not naturalistic. Cleopatra wears sumptuous and richer clothes that reflect her ambition; Cornelia, on the other hand, is more sober, more in line with her pain and her rancor.