From the outset the grandeur and scale of Giulio Cesare, first given at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket on 20 February 1724, ensured a popular success reflected not only by London revivals in January 1725, January 1730 and February 1732, but by the opera rapidly being taken up in Germany, where it was performed in a number of centres including Brunswick (August 1725) and Hamburg (November 1725).

In the 20th century, Giulio Cesare was one of the operas that spearheaded the Handel opera revival, while today it is established as one of the few pre-Mozart operas to have become a repertoire work in opera houses throughout the world.

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