La morte di Cesare is an opera seria

Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

in three acts by Francesco Bianchi. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was by Gaetano Sertor, after Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's play Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (play)

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...

.

La morte di Cesare was one of six texts that Sertor wrote for Bianchi, influencing a popular series of Venetian 'morte' operas in the 1790s. While the murder itself was not shown on the stage, the audience were left with the body of Caesar conspicuously in view during the closing scenes.

As with other Bianchi operas, there were innovations: the chorus participated actively in the drama, there was a ballet and a pantomime, a duet for two men, and a final oath scene (giuramento), besides the basically unconventional tragic ending.

Performance history

The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Samuele

Teatro San Samuele

Teatro San Samuele was an opera house and theatre located at the Rio del Duca, between Campo San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano, in Venice. One of several important theatres built in that city by the Grimani family, the theatre opened in 1656 and operated continuously until a fire destroyed the...

 in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 on 27 December 1788.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 27 December 1788 (Conductor: )
Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... )	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...  castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...	Gaspare Pacchierotti Gaspare Pacchierotti Gaspare Pacchierotti was a great mezzo-soprano castrato, and one of the most famous singers of his time.-Training and first appearances:...
Calfurnia (Calpurnia Calpurnia Pisonis Calpurnia Pisonis , daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, sister of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, "the Pontifex", was a Roman woman and the third and last wife of Julius Caesar. Calpurnia was the great-granddaughter of a lieutenant of Lucius Cassius Longinus, whose name was Lucius Piso... )	soprano	Anna Casentini
Antonio (Mark Antony Mark Antony Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar... )	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Niccolò Perotti
Cassio (Cassius Gaius Cassius Longinus Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:... )	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Filippo Martinelli
Bruto (Brutus)	tenor	Matteo Babini Matteo Babini Matteo Antonio Babini , also known by the family name of Babbini, was a leading Italian tenor of the late 18th-century, and a teacher of singing and stage art.-Life and Career:Matteo Babini was born in Bologna on ....
Porzia (Porcia Porcia Catonis Porcia Catonis, also known simply as Porcia was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis and his first wife Atilia... )	soprano	Antonia Viscardini
Albino	soprano castrato	Michele Cavanna

Synopsis

The subject of the opera is the conspiracy, led by Cassio, Bruto and Porzia, to murder Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

) in Rome in 44 BC. Giulio Cesare's loving relationship with Calfurnia forms a subplot.