(ANSA) - ROME, NOVEMBER 18 - A tragedy of ambiguity, the account of the assassination of Julius Caesar as a modern drama that can take shape anywhere in the world. The Opera di Roma raises the level of the challenge and bets on contemporary music by opening the 2020-2021 season on Saturday 20 November with the world premiere of 'Julius Caesar', a work commissioned for this particular occasion to composer Giorgio Battistelli on a libretto by Ian Burton inspired by Shakespeare's masterpiece . Leading the orchestra and the chorus will be the musical director Daniele Gatti. '' It is wonderful that the Opera Theater has made this choice - Canadian director Robert Carsen tells ANSA - because it is an important message; the public today asks if the work still has value and prospects for the future.To see a work like this represented, means to reaffirm the intellectual and emotional impact that modern work can still have and its importance ''.
The composition in two acts by Battistelli '' is a modern way of narrating Shakespeare's theater - observes Carsen- The text is 90% Shakespearean but as we know the author is considered extremely contemporary, above all for his knowledge of political themes. Julius Caesar is the most political of his works because he analyzes the functioning and breakdowns of the political system. The text therefore opens up to different interpretations based on the moment in which it is represented, influenced by the political climate, the historical moment in which the visitor looks at it ''.
The vocal cast, with the exception of Ruxandra Donose who plays Calpurnia, the only female role, includes CliveBayley (Julius Caesar), Elliot Madore (Brutus), Julian Hubbard (Cassius), Dominic Sedgwick (Antony), Michael Scott (Casca), Hugo Hymas ( Lucius).
It is the first time, in recent times, that Costanzi inaugurates its season with a work of contemporary music.
The only precedent dates back to 1901 with the opening entrusted to Pietro Mascagni's Masks.
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