The image of Sesto from the opera «Julius Caesar» by G. F. Handel: performing dramaturgy
Authors: Melnyk Svitlana 
Published: September 2023

Formulation of the problem. The article is devoted to the characteristics of the image of Sesto from the opera «Julius Caesar» by G. F. Handel, namely, to the specifics of performing dramaturgy. Analysis of recent research and publications. The main studies are those of the aesthetics of the era and the principles of performance in the Baroque period (Harnoncourt, Ivanova, Kukol, Cherkashyna-Gubarenko), the creative work of G. F. Handel (Deshouli&#232;res, Hogwood, Knapp & Dean, Sadie, Seidel), the embodiment of his operas on modern stages (Giudici, Jones), and specifics of vocal performance (Kozak). The purpose of the article is to reveal the specifics of the performing dramaturgy of the image of Sesto from the opera «Julius Caesar in Egypt» by G. F. Handel and to follow individual examples of its embodiment in the interpretations of modern performers. The scientific novelty is the first attempt in Ukrainian musicology to research and carry out an analysis of the performing dramaturgy of the image of Sesto from the opera «Julius Caesar in Egypt» by G. F. Handel. The research methodology is based on the achievements of the department of interpretology and analysis of music of the I. P. Kotlyarevsky KhNUA in the perspective of the study of performing poetics, in particular, performing dramaturgy. Thus, the basic definition is the one given in the doctoral monograph by Y. Nikolaievska, who connects this phenomenon with the internal form and points to the very processuality in sonorous time. The results of the study are a detailed analysis of 5 arias and a duet that make up the basis of Sesto’s part, translations of the texts are provided, which allows one to understand the nuances of the role, examples of ranges of musical pieces are given, performing difficulties are analysed. Conclusions. «Performing dramaturgy» is defined as the gradual actualization of the content potentially laid down by the composer in the process of performance (in the development of Y. Nikolaievska’s ideas). The potential semantic markers of the role of Sesto are marked as follows: the emphasized youth of the hero, his connection with almost all the heroes of the opera, the multifacetedness of emotional expression; the presence in his role of arias with affects such as lamento and revenge, bravura arias; the dynamics of the role is built from the first aria, where the suffering young man is presented, to the last aria (act III) – heroic in form and essence. Important means of expression in Sesto’s arias include interval jumps, passages for small technique, long phrases that require mastery of breathing, contrasting dynamic nuances, tessitura, various rhythmic patterns, etc.; convenient keys (c-moll, Es-dur, e-moll, g-moll) and range (from hм to g2 ). The actualization of dramaturgical markers was followed on the examples of interpretations of Sesto’s image by three modern performers (mezzo-soprano Lorraine Gant Lieberson, Isabelle Leonard, countertenor F. Zharusky). It is noted that all performers in general embody the wealth of feelings, emotions, and affects laid down by the composer, demonstrate high technicality, a combination of drama and lyricism, emotionality, determination, and courage.