Gramophone
'As Caesar, she (Janet Baker) arms the voice with an impregnable firmness, outgoing and adventurous.'
Libretto by Nicola Haym
English translation by Brian Trowell
Edition prepared by Noel Davies and
Sir Charles Mackerras
The Cast
Dame Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano - Julius Caesar
Christopher Booth-Jones, baritone - Curio
Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano - Cornelia
Della Jones, mezzo-soprano - Sextus
Valerie Masterson, soprano - Cleopatra
James Bowman, countertenor - Ptolemy
John Tomlinson, bass - Achillas
David James, countertenor - Nirenus
English National Opera Chorus
English National Opera Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras - conductor
Recorded in Abbey Road Studios, London
1-7 August 1984
Producer - John Fraser, Sound engineer - Mark Vigars
Classic CD
'... the sheer intensity of the central performance... aided by the extreme intimacy possible in a recording studio she (Janet Baker) is as subtle and stylish as she is eloquent. But Valerie Masterson... is pretty well her equal. Caesar, whether angry, magnanimous or smitten by Cleopatra, is the noble-hearted ruler throughout, whereas Cleopatra is by turns kittenish, amorous, anguished at the prospect of Caesar's death, furious at the treachery of her brother Ptolemy, radiant in the concluding duet: Masterson builds her into a real and seductive character.'
