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Article: HAIL, CAESAR! VIRGINIA OPERA GOES FOR BAROQUE WITH DRAMATIC PRODUCTION THAT BOASTS LARGER-THAN-LIFE CHARACTERS.(DAILY BREAK)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- January 27, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
WHAT BECOMES an icon most? That really doesn't concern director Lillian Garrett-Groag. Her ``Julius Caesar,'' the first Baroque opera produced by Virginia Opera, is not designed to humanize the great Roman emperor.
Caesar was larger than life, a legend. So was Cleopatra. To play history's most intriguing lovers as anything less would deflate the story. Worse, it would betray the intentions of composer George Frideric Handel.
``It's very difficult to get a performer to play unsympathetically. We want to be liked up there,'' said Garrett-Groag, an accomplished stage actress. ``There's been an epidemic of ...