Despite being composed exactly 300 years ago, Handel's Giulio Cesare holds deep resonance for our modern times. A tale of love and betrayal, succession and migration, it's easy to see why Handel's emotionally gripping score has astounded audiences over the centuries.

And this week, the trials and tribulations of the Roman emperor Caesar and Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, take center stage at Ireland's Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, where Nic leads the Irish Baroque Orchestra and a cast of sumptuous singers in a new production from director Tom Creed.

Ahead of the festival's four performances this week, Nic — along with Creed and mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty — was featured on RTÉ Radio 1's Arena, where he discussed the joys and challenges of performing a nearly four-hour score al fresco and where this opera fits into Handel's storied career.

Plus, in this video produced by Blackwater Valley, Nic shares his thoughts on what sets Giulio Cesare apart among Handel's 40 operas, stating: "The range of characters is perhaps the greatest — it is a glorious piece of grandeur, splendor, with heroic music and a little dash of comedic spice. ... It's like football with tunes!"

Haydn and Handel meet Strauss and Shostakovich: Nic returns to the Aspen Music Festival

A busy summer of music-making continues this July when Nic leads two performances at the Aspen Music Festival, where his concerts are always highlights of the season.

On Friday, July 5, he'll lead the Aspen Chamber Symphony in not one, but two symphonies by Haydn: No. 31, "Hornsignal"; and No. 100, "Military." Pianist Inon Barnatan joins Nic for Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto, and the illustrious clarinetist Michael Rusinek and bassoonist Nancy Goeres — both principal players with the Pittsburgh Symphony — share the spotlight in Richard Strauss's fairy-tale-inspired Duet-Concertino.

And on Thursday, July 11, Nic returns to the podium for a program of Baroque and Classical delights: Haydn's Overture to Orlando Paladino, as well as selections from Handel's Orlando and a J. S. Bach cantata — both featuring artists from the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS Program. To close the program, the incomparable Steven Isserlis joins Nic for what promises to be a sparkling performance of Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major.

Coming up this July …

• ​​Aspen Music Festival

  Chamber Symphony with Inon Barnatan (July 5)

• Aspen Music Festival

  A Baroque Evening with Nicholas McGegan and Steven Isserlis (July 11)