The Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Bozar in Bruxelles, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Philharmonie in Cologne: these are the venues of the European tour that will see – from 19 October to 1 November – countertenor Carlo Vistoli playing the title role in Georg Friedrich Haendel’s opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, presented as a concert performance.

Next to Vistoli on all concerts, the great mezzo Cecilia Bartoli will be playing the role of Cleopatra, while Gianluca Capuano will be conducting Les Musiciens du Prince Monaco. Vistoli will also work with the same musicians next year for this debut at the Opéra of Monte-Carlo in January, and at the Staatsoper in Vienna in July, where they will star on a new production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto staged by Davide Livermore, and where the countertenor will once again interpret the Roman dictator.

«Julius Caesar, created by Haendel for one of the period’s most important castratos, the Senesino – says Vistoli – is an iconic role, and a fundamental one for any countertenor’s professional journey. Like all great roles as Primo Uomo, it offers a wide range of potential expressions: from the slow and pathetic aria to the imitation aria, down to the rage and acrobatic coloratura arias. Having successfully collaborated with Cecilia Bartoli and with Gianluca Capuano in the past, I am eager to work with them on Haendel’s most famous opera; initially in some of the most prestigious concert halls and then on stage, on a new production in two great European theatres».

The opera’s touring cast includes countertenors Max Emanuel Cenčić as Tolomeo and Kangmin Justin Kim as Sesto Pompeo, Sara Mingardo as Cornelia – apart from the Luxembourg concert, where Kristina Hammarström will be singing – and bass José Coca Loza as Achilla.

The tour starts on 19 October at the ultramodern Philharmonie Luxembourg, to continue on 23 and 25 October at the famous Twentieth century Paris theatre, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, where Vistoli is often invited and where he will return in February 2024 to interpret Rinaldo on Haendel’s opera by the same name. On 27 October Giulio Cesare in Egitto will stop in Brussels at the Centre for Fine Arts “Bozar” to then land on 30 October in one of the Nineteenth century’s most important concert halls, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The last date, 1 November, is scheduled in Germany, at the Kölner Philharmonie.

Following the tour, from 19 to 26 November, Carlo Vistoli will be at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin to perform in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto, where he will sing the role of Farnace for the first time, with Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musiciens du Louvre and Satoshi Miyagi directing the show.