Gerard Boedijn

Caesar and Cleopatra

Cleopatra (69-30 BC) was involved in a battle for power with her brother Ptolemy III. She did not want to share power over Egypt with him. Tradition dictated, however, that the man was always the most powerful, so Cleopatra, who was also married to Ptolemy, was chased out of Egypt. The Roman statesman, general and writer Julius Caesar wanted to annex Egypt as a province. Cleopatra wanted to take advantage of the situation and let herself be smuggled to Caesar, rolled inside a carpet. Although Caesar and Cleopatra were both married, they fell in love and were driven by political motives. The composer Gerard Boedijn composed the Overture with a nod to 1960s Hollywood films. The opening fanfare and the use of gamuts on quarters brings the listener into a Middle-Eastern mood.