Giulio Cesare

Handel's opera tells the story of Julius Caesar's visit to Cleopatra in Egypt. It is considered by many to be the prime example of opera seria: a noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770. The castrati voices dominated these works, though nowadays they are more likely to be sung by a countertenor or mezzo. This was also the period that gave rise to the "prima donna" or Leading Lady, who typically had several showy, florid arias in varying styles composed for her.