Julius Caesar in Egypt

Francis Wong (Hong Kong) as Ptolemy watches Steven Ang (Singapore) as Julius Caesar and Tatiana Konovalova (Russia) as Cleopatra

Having successfully staged Verdi’s Macbeth last year, The Mad Scene returns in September with Handel’s Julius Caesar in Egypt, directed by Hawk Liu. I spoke to producer and singer Steven Ang to find out about The Mad Scene’s sophomore production.

What is it about Julius Caesar in Egypt that led you to produce and perform in it?

After Macbeth, Hawk Liu and I were discussing what our next project could be. We both have a love for grand historical epics told in music, so this opera is a natural fit. This production covers Caesar’s campaign in Egypt amidst civil wars in both Rome and Egypt, and encapsulates the story in quite a stunning way, full of heroism and romance.

The music captures the emotional journeys of its six characters so well, in addition to being fiendishly virtuosic and laden with catchy ear-worms.

Ashley Chua (Singapore) as Sextus

What are some of the unique challenges in playing Caesar?

One of the biggest challenges of this production is adapting an 18th century piece for the contemporary stage. Shows back then would typically last up to five hours, with audience members entering and leaving the theatre at different times. Plot expositions were also more stylised and less propulsive by today’s standards. Hawk and I have adapted the plot and music in ways that give more dramatic impetus to the plot, while allowing the many favourite tunes that lovers of the opera know and love to be more dramatically engaging as well.

Another challenge is that, anatomically, the music is composed for a ‘castrato’ singer, a male singer who has had parts of his genitalia surgically removed to preserve the purity of a boy’s tone with the strength of a grown man. Suffice to say that, while I love the piece and role deeply as artist, I am really not willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for it!

Hence, the music has to be adapted for my deeper bass-baritone voice, which is common practice in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Low voices are rarely associated with florid music with fast running passages, so this adaptation is a great showcase for bass baritones!

Hugo Van Beever (Belgium) as Achillas

Were there any interesting discoveries in the process of rehearsing for the show?

It has often been said that it takes a village to put on a theatrical production. This production is a true global village, with four of our six main cast members from Japan, Belgium, Russia and Hong Kong, working together with Singaporean talents in the cast and creative team. Everyone has stepped up to help make this a truly wonderful experience.

We have learnt a lot of lessons from Macbeth last year and are applying them this time round. Francis Wong from Hong Kong has been instrumental in styling many of the looks that you see in the promos and onstage. Hawk’s artistic vision is astute and detail-oriented as always, and we are now able to incorporate better lighting, sets and backdrops to the mix. It’s been an interesting intellectual melting pot combining ancient history with period and contemporary performance practices. We hope to present a work that is faithful to its sources and enjoyable by modern theatre-goers.

One of the best things about this production is including the up-and-coming soprano Ashley Chua to play the boy role of Sesto. She is a truly fine singer of this repertoire on top of being a committed and accommodating actor at the same time. She sings a duet with Japanese-British mezzo Chieko Trevatt that will break your hearts and give you goosebumps all at the same time. I can’t wait for the audience to hear them perform it!