Geminiano Giacomelli: «Cesare in Egitto» (Opera in 3 acts) 
Libretto: Carlo Goldoni & Domenico Lalli
Premiere: Venice, Teatro S. Giovanni Grisostomo, November 24, 1735
Edition: Critical edition by Bernardo Ticci & Ottavio Dantone
Performance in Italian with German and English subtitles

Following a victorious naval battle, Cesare is celebrated by the Egyptians as the victor in the conflict against Pompeo, his adversary in the Roman Civil War, and Pompeo’s ally Tolomeo, the brother of Queen Cleopatra. At the request of Pompeo’s wife Cornelia, he agrees to make peace with the defeated. However, it is too late: Tolomeo’s commander Achilla presents Cesare, landing ashore, with Pompeo’s head wrapped in a purple cloth, proving that Tolomeo has switched sides.

Thus begins the opera «Cesare in Egitto» by Geminiano Giacomelli, chosen by Ottavio Dantone for his first staged production as Musical Director of the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. Here, as in other operas of the festival, the focus lies on the female characters in the story. Alongside the select ensemble of soloists featuring Arianna Vendittelli, Emőke Baráth, Margherita Maria Sala, Federico Fiorio, Filippo Mineccia, and Valerio Contaldo, and the virtuoso playing of Accademia Bizantina as the new «orchestra in residence,» the gaze of Fama (see Famos!) turns southward toward the cradle of humanity.