Killing Caesar (exposé)

Killing Caesar (2020) by Jon Pescevich is a tragic opera in two acts, based on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”.

When Julius Caesar takes the crown, a small band of citizens attacks him, prepared to pay any price to defend democracy. Listeners are swept along on a powerful descent into revolution and violence, confronting them with the question, “What if this were to happen to us?”

Act One

Cassia, a noblewoman, is convinced that democracy is at risk. She sees a cult of personality growing up around Julius Caesar, a charismatic Roman leader, and she is determined to stop him. One afternoon she sees Brutus, the highly respected Senator, and approaches him, trying to win him to her cause. As Cassia appeals to Brutus’ fear and his sense of justice, the Mob inside the Senate repeatedly erupts into a frenzy of adoration for Caesar. In a rage, Cassia exposes her true feelings to Brutus and asks him to join her in her quest. Brutus is hesitant.

That night, after having seen much violence done in Caesar’s name, Brutus decides that the only viable option is to join Cassia. He promises to kill Caesar and defend Rome. Portia, Brutus’ wife and best friend, would clearly be his most important ally in achieving this goal. But in the first of a long line of errors, Brutus refuses to tell Portia. Instead, he leaves on his own to find Cassia.

On the other side of the city, Cassia has gathered a large band of protesters against Caesar’s tyranny. Soldiers violently take prisoners and depart. To comfort her remaining followers and give them hope, Cassia organizes a vigil for them. Brutus arrives as the ceremony ends. He convinces the others not to forge any further alliances, and not to kill Mark Antony. Cassia disagrees with Brutus, but against her better judgement, she follows along. Together with a handful of true believers, Cassia and Brutus plot the murder of Caesar.

The next morning, Caesar and his wife Calpurnia are in their garden. Calpurnia has been having nightmares of Caesar’s murder. She is hard at work creating a dark and horrifying array of statues, which awaken uneasiness and dread in her husband. But when Cassia and Brutus arrive, they wave Calpurnia’s worries away, flattering and enticing Caesar with new dreams for Caesar to contemplate; dreams of grandeur. Calpurnia watches helplessly as they lead Caesar away to die.

Act Two

Later that morning, as Caesar reaches for the crown on the steps of the Senate, he is brutally murdered by Brutus, Cassia and their followers. When Mark Antony confronts them, they try to win him over to their cause. Antony would like to speak at Caesar’s funeral, but Cassia senses danger and says no. Once again Brutus insists on having his way, and Antony is permitted to speak. In short order Antony turns the crowd against Cassia and Brutus. He has their followers executed. Keeping his word to avenge Caesar, Antony then unleashes a war of retribution on the world.

Weeks later, on a deserted battlefield late at night, Brutus dreams of his dead wife Portia. She tells him that Antony has destroyed Rome, and that anarchy reigns. Awakening to Cassia’s voice, Brutus confronts her with a series of accusations, masking his own failures. They bicker. Brutus hurls blame and Cassia defends herself. Hearing that Antony is advancing on their position, Brutus demands bloody revenge through a frontal assault. Against her own instincts, Cassia joins Brutus in revenge. They unite in one last attempt to save their lost cause. Caesar’s ghost appears in the darkness. The war dead surround Cassia and Brutus, readying them for battle. They disappear into the violence of war, as the dead wail; humanity has brought about its own destruction.

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