Hudson, N.Y. — You needn’t know a thing about opera to love R.B. Schlather’s production of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” (JOO-lyo CHAY-zah-reh), playing at Hudson Hall until May 2.
Everything about this production delivers on director R.B. Schlather’s promise of a “wild ride packed with intrigue, danger, seduction, sharp wit, and gut-wrenching drama.” The staging—with cast members regularly descending a runway and mingling up close with the audience—keeps the focus squarely on the characters.
If you have ever heard Baroque music played with such vigor and verve that you wanted to get up and dance, you may have been listening to the conductorless early-music band Ruckus. If any group’s interpretation of a Handel score deserves to be called revelatory, this is it, because Ruckus shows exactly how Handel’s music ought to be performed. From the instant they launch into the overture, it is clear: You are not in Kansas anymore. You have entered a sound world far removed from your grandmother’s opera—one powered by sheer glee and enthusiasm and guided by an extraordinary unity of vision. The group’s approach to Baroque music is bold, swaggering, high energy, and unapologetically modern. Its approach to recitative, by contrast, is exquisitely nuanced, incorporating improvisational elements where appropriate.
Ruckus adds a little bit of unexpected orchestral color through subtle accents of percussion and electronic keyboard—all of it delivered with a whole lot of attitude. Every early-music performance should be this engaging and exciting.
The production design is simple and abstract, allowing the story to unfold without distraction. Characters and action dominate the stage, perfectly aligned with Schlather’s pulp-fiction-thriller ethos.
The singing and acting are exemplary and at times transcendent.
With its campy edge, swaggering wit, and kinetic staging, this show is tailor-made for first-time opera goers. Schlather explains why:
Back in Handel’s day, performers rocked contemporary fashion, played against minimal backdrops, and lit up the stage with raw charisma. People came for the thrill—the singers, the spectacle, the physicality, and the sheer energy of the music.
R.B. Schlather’s “Giulio Cesare” is not merely a fresh take on Handel’s opera—it is a thoroughly modern vision of what opera can be.
See R.B. Schlather’s production of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” at Hudson Hall on Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, April 30, at 3 p.m.; or Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. Matinee showings are followed by a discussion with director R.B. Schlather, dramaturg Joseph Cermatori, and members of the cast.
