A "charismatic" Cesare in London

Tim recently returned to the title role in Handel's great Giulio Cesare with the Early Opera Company under Christian Curnyn. This concert performance was part of the London Handel Festival and marked Tim's first performance of the role since his last minute step-in at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2006.

"charismatic"
The Sunday Times

"Mead's striking 'manliness', especially in the bravura numbers depicting Caesar as military commander. But Mead was no less compelling as Caesar in love, his voice blending sensuously with Anna Devin's fascinating Cleopatra... Mead was no less alluring in the breathtaking 'Aure, deh, per pieta' in which he played languidly with Handel's erotic melismata."
Opera

"The part was superbly sung here by Tim Mead... His agility was dazzling, but also expressively varied according to the dramatic situation. He was especially compelling in the great accompagnato and aria in the third act “Aure, deh, per pietà” (O breezes, for pity’s sake), where his exquisite and long-held first syllable seemed to descend from the skies."
Bachtrack

"it was Tim Mead who brought to bear a correspondingly impressive diversity and range in his personification of Caesar. Mead was variously stately, plangent, insistent and beguiling as the Roman consul comes to terms with the political, military, and amorous challenges he faces in Egypt on annexing it to the Roman Empire."
Classical Source

"Tim Mead was also an exceptionally fine Cesare, with his countertenor combining focus with nuance so that his ethereal sound was shaped to perfection, and his utterance of the single word ‘Aure’ in ‘Aure, deh, per pietà’ seemed to stop time as it pierced the air."
MusicOMH

"Tim Mead made a very confident and dynamic Giulio Cesare, with a great sense of dominance and capability. Mead brought out a very great interaction with the text, so that we were aware of the growing drama of this capable military man in the trammels of love. Technically very strong, the range of the role seems to suit him well... we got a beautiful messa di voce (very much a trademark of the original Cesare, Sensino) on the opening note of his opening aria in Act Three, and the preceding accompagnato was very fine, as was Cesare's other accompagnato in Act One musing on the death of Pompey. Despite these thoughtful moments, we had bravura too and his Act Two aria (after the Parnassus scene) was a complete delight and a wonderful way to end the first half of the evening."
Planet Hugill

Photo: Claire Shovelton