The countertenor conquest of Giulio Cesare

The Deutsche Oper Berlin’s recent production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto confirms the countertenor’s dominance in roles once reserved for mezzo-sopranos or castrati. The performance demonstrates that the voice type has matured to handle the demanding tessitura (the range within which most notes of a vocal part fall) of Handel’s heroics. This is no longer a niche curiosity of the early music movement but a standard feature of major house programming. The casting of multiple countertenors in a single production reflects a broader institutional acceptance of the voice type's dramatic versatility. In the mid-20th century, these roles were frequently transposed or heavily edited to suit modern voices; today, the period-performance practice has dictated a return to the original pitch and color. The production at Deutsche Oper proves that the modern countertenor can sustain the necessary power and agility to carry a four-hour Baroque drama in a large-scale house. Score on IMSLP.