March 15, 44 BC
Nightmares kept Calpurnia up all night.
In those dreams, some say, she held the bloodied remains of her husband. Others say Calpurnia dreamed of her house crumbling before her, or of seeing her husband in front of her, his body streaming with blood. The warnings of a soothsayer didn’t help ease her nerves. “Beware the Ides of March,” he had said, and the Ides were now here. As he prepared to leave for the morning, Calpurnia implored Julius Caesar to stay home, and not tempt fate. Or Roman politics.
Caesar had recently returned from abroad, having won a string of victories from current-day Britain and France, to Northern Africa and more. His military prowess had bolstered support among his troops and back at home, where he now tested the waters with dictatorship and a calling to rule as the first Roman king in 500 years.
Not all Romans were so comfortable with the growing threat of tyranny, though. A conspiracy had grown among Roman Senators, and the Ides of March would be the true test of their strength.
That morning, Caesar delayed but eventually stepped out the door and into a story that has stuck with us, even to the point of becoming a minor mid-March holiday. But, interestingly, this is not the only Caesar story some composers have told.
Music fit for a King
Baroque composer Georg Frideric Handel’s 1724 opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto turns away from the tragedy of Caesar, and presents Caesar-as-hero in the far-flung lands of Egypt.
The opera takes place a few years before the fateful Ides of March.
Through incredible music, Handel shows another side of Caesar, even comparing him to the mythological Hercules.
In the history-inspired story, Caesar has defeated Pompey in the Roman civil war, and has followed him to Egypt to make peace. But it’s not to be, as Egyptian ruler Tolomeo (Ptolemy XIII) has presented Caesar with Pompey’s head.
Handel takes a chance here to showcase Caesar’s nobility as he visits Pompey’s tomb in the aria “Alma del gran Pompeo.”
Act II sees a bit of romance flare up. Tolomeo’s sister, the famous Cleopatra, seduces Caesar to gain his support in taking the Egyptian throne in “V’adorro pupille.”
And the rest of the opera plays out the struggle until a presumed-dead Caesar returns in the end to defeat Tolomeo, and seats his Egyptian mistress on the throne.
In this opera, Handel chooses to show Caesar‘s strength as a warrior, a lover, and perhaps, as the ruling-class ideal his audience could root for. And when that audience includes noblemen and an actual king, maybe it’s best to err on the side of heroics.
Meanwhile, back in Rome...
That’s a far cry from the tragedy that awaited Caesar back in 44 BC.
As he walked to the Theatre of Pompey, where the Senate sat awaiting his arrival, Caesar passed the soothsayer who had warned him of this day.
“The Ides of March have come,” the war hero said to the fortune teller.
“But they are not yet gone,” he replied.
When he arrived and took his seat, Senators started to circle. One handed Caesar a petition.
But this meeting wasn’t about that paper, or any other.
As Caesar read, the first knife slashed. Then another, and another. More attacks came as Caesar fought his attackers, stumbling away from the press of Senators wanting to take his life.
The Ides March On
And this is the story we hear today from later composers, like Robert Schumann.
Sort of. Schumann’s 1851 overture was more historical fiction than history, inspired by William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” not by the historical account of Caesar’s life.
Still, in around 8 minutes, Schumann takes us from the grandeur of Rome, through the conspiracy and assassination, and beyond.
The story of Caesar, the soothsayer, and the Ides of March has been brought to life by many other composers through the years, but contemporary listeners might best remember the black-and-white 1953 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.
Most notably starring Marlon Brando, fresh off his star-making role as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” as Mark Antony, “Julius Caesar” opened to rave reviews, and would be nominated for five Oscars, including Best Score. That music, penned by composer Miklos Rozsa, helps turn the tale into a silver-screen epic, and perhaps helps bridge the gap between hero and tragedy.
On March 15th, a guy woke up, got dressed, and walked into the worst day of his life. In the 2,000 years since, composers like Handel have shown Caesar as a heroic lover and fighter. Others, like Schumann, have followed the Shakespearean path and brought us the drama of the Ides of March and its aftermath, while Hollywood, and Rozsa, made the tale larger than life.
They may not agree on who Caesar was, but the Ides of March are the perfect time to listen, and decide for yourself.