Baldwin Wallace voice performance students will kick off their 2023-24 opera season on Friday at the Playhouse Square with a unique take on George Friederic Händel’s “Giulio Cesare.”   

BW’s director of opera studies Scott Skiba, who is also the stage director and producer, said their approach to Händel’s “Giulio Cesare” is “inspired by James Bond spy movies.”   

“Seduction, betrayal, lust for power, and revenge” are the main convections of this loose adaptation of the Roman Civil War. Written by Händel, this opera celebrates its 300-year anniversary. 

“Händel often lends itself to this organized crime and mafia sort of take,” Skiba said. “But we just did this with the previous opera, so we used disguises and sneaking around to get the idea of spy movies.”  

With this added flare, Will Nicholson, a junior vocal performance student who plays Achilla, said that the performance has high potential.  

“The dramatics of the opera are amazing, the story is compelling, the vision that Director Scott Skiba has is incredible, and I’m so excited to see it by the time opening night comes around,” Nicholson said.  

Nicholson said that on top of having a creative production, the cast has faced some creative challenges. 

“I have never had to do recitative before, and within this role, there’s quite a bit of it,” Nicholson said. “The main struggle I have is making sure that I’m conveying the text correctly, so the audience can understand what the characters are going through.”  

Based on the work with the vocal faculty and Skiba himself, the department picks operas based on the different students and casting scenarios with which they are presented.  

“Unlike theatre or music theatre, there are certainly types and student attributes that lean towards types of roles, but with opera it’s like casting an orchestra,” Skiba said. “Their instrument is their instrument.”  

The opera will feature two different casts. The first cast will perform the Friday show and Saturday matinee, and the second cast will perform the Saturday night show and the Sunday matinee.  

 “The students are doing a great job. They’re all so talented. Part of picking the rep is imagining them excelling and doing really well, bringing their skills and talents to the role,” Skiba said.   

 According to BW’s website, the fall production utilizes costumes, lights and the orchestra to explore “non-traditional spaces and contemporary interdisciplinary approaches to opera in the 21st century.”  

Tickets are now on sale for “Guilio Ceasare,” premiering in the Helen theatre of Playhouse Square Friday to Monday.