Antony and Cleopatra

One of the greatest American operas ever written

"Antony and Cleopatra" is both one of the most overlooked masterpieces of American opera and one of the most sensational flops of the 20th Century. It was Barber's final work for the stage, and the last major work of his productive life. The work was commissioned for the grand opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966 with Leontyne Price and Justino Diaz in the title roles. The world premiere was given on Sep. 16, 1966, and the audience gave the work a boost with 14 curtain calls, as heard in the broacast of the opera. (I am lucky to have the recording of the Met broadcast of the world premiere of "Antony".) Even though the opera had some Barber's best music, the premiere production was seen as a failure, due to an overly elaborate production by the director Franco Zeffirelli, who tried to use every aspect of the technical stage available in the new opera house. After the premiere, Barber hid from public view, spending the next five years in Europe. In 1974, Barber revised the opera with the help of Gian Carlo Menotti. This "new" version was performed in a student production at The Juilliard School in 1975, with additional performances at the Spoleto Festival in 1983 and Chicago Lyric Opera in 1991.

This recording is from a live perfomance during the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Since there are really no other recordings to compare with, this recording is a must for American opera lovers, fans of Samuel Barber's music, and opera fans in general. I hope all can enjoy this work, because you won't be disappointed. May 31, 2003

20th Century Grand Opera

This is one of the greatest "failure" operas of the 20th century. Written for the opening of the new Met at Lincoln Center, the opera was in some ways overshadowed by the occasion, and while a triumph with the opening night audience, it was a critical failure. This reputation has followed it ever since, even with the massive overhaul that Barber gave it before he died. It's a real shame, since this is a jewel of 20th century opera, if not a diamond, than at least an emerald.

The opera still suffers from libretto problems. In many ways, it would have been better for Barber to attempt something on the scale of Les Troyens...the subject calls for it and Barber would have been up to the challenge. He has a Verdian sweep and sense of scale. Some of the chorus scenes can veer toward the "movie music" cliches of Egypt and Rome. Listen especially to the instrumental passages in Cleopatra's first act aria "Give Me Some Music". And yet, despite this, the aria is lovely and highly successful. It is even more adventurous harmonically than Vanessa, and yet never looses it's melodic drive. Contrary to other reviewers, I don't belive that the recit sections are dry. I think that, rather, they are dramatic and beautifully constructed. And Barber is not afraid to let his melodies soar in solo and ensemble work. The second act love duet is ravishing. Barber also has a great sense for orchestral color. The death of Anthony, accompanied by just timpani and flute, is spellbinding in it's simplicity.

The writing for the voices is stunning. Cleopatra is a marvelous role, and shows that it was inspired by it's star, Leontyne Price. Price never lost faith in the work, and sung "Bring Me My Robe" at her farewell concert from the Met. The role is majestic, dramatic and full of lovely melody. Anthony also has wonderful moments, particularly his suicide scene. The smaller roles are less well graced, but Caesar gets a few juicy lines before the show is over.

The recording is pretty good. It is taken from a live 1983performance at the Spoletto Festival in Italy. It's hard to review the performance, as there are not many comparisons. All of the singers are young, and most have not gone on to have really top knotch careers. Ester Hinds sings Cleopatra with power, but her diction leaves much to be desired. She cannot compare to the recorded excerpts that Leontyne Price has left behind. One wishes that Ms. Price had had an opportunity to record the entire work. That would have been stunning. Jeffrey Wells as Antony is much better, but still not a distiguished singer. Eric Halfvarson as Enobarbus is in the mold of the great Verdi Baritones, but doesn't get much meaty to sing. And the recording is marred slightly by stage noise, inevitable when you are dealing with a live performance, but unfortunate anyway.

All in all, this is an opera that rewards repeated listening. And one that should be revived. June 25, 2002

A masterwork unfairly treated.

I am fortunate enough to have heard (and recorded) the world premiere of "Antony" in 1965. The present rcording is more intimate and romantic, probably due to the vitriolic reviews when it was first heard. The original score lacks the love duet but is far more exciting and a fuller realization of the Shakespeare play. Written for the inaugural performance at the new Met, it galls me that such a brilliant work was never produced there again. One must remember that the October opening of the house was also the start of the New York social season. It was a new house in a new Art Center, and I don't believe enough focus was put on the opera itself. Everyone was probably looking over one another etc. Most of the awful reviews were written by people like Shana Alexander who has absolutely NO credentials as a music critc. I won't go on, but suffice it to say, I'm happy to have a recording of that first performance and enjoy the present commercial recordin....although it lacks the grandeur and punch of the original. My wish is that someday it will be recognized as the great work that it is. Puccin's Madama Butterfly was a howling fiasco at it's premiere. Can you imagine THAT? June 24, 2002

Inspired romantic epic

I was so pleased to discover this splendid late-late romantic epic--not because it is flawless, but rather because it's heartwarming to discover such an unabashedly romantic work that I could have, at least theoretically, attended the premier of(okay, so they might have had reservations about admitting a 6 month old baby).

Antony and Cleopatra is filled with splendid music--from the brilliant energy charged opening (which reminded me of Turandot's opening), through the vision of Cleopatra's barge, through the beautiful Act II love duet ("O take these lips away"), to the splendid Act III dirge and finale. This is the kind of music that the old bitter men who write opera reviews hate, and the booklet describes quite persuasively the contrast between the enthusiastic audience reception and the poisonous words of the reviewers, who branded the work a failure! Well, I admit that I usually love all the stuff they hate--from Puccini, to Korngold to Antony and Cleopatra. It's true that the music occasionally reminds one of the fabulous film scores of the Cecil B. DeMille type historical epics of the 50s and 60s, but why shouldn't it?

As much as I love the work, it does have aspects which sometimes fail to please. One of the biggest drawbacks lies in the basic conception of the opera--the decision to try to set a brutally pared-down version of a Shakespear play to music. It might have been wiser to produce a "Revised Standard Version" of the play, that would speak more directly to a modern audience. Repeated readings of the play or the libretto may help in understanding the archaic expressions ("Antony--leave thy lascivious wassails", or "Salt Cleopatra"). Also, the libretto comes across as what it is--the remnants of a great play. And while both his choruses and his soaring romantic lines are impressive, there's also alot of the kind of harmonically tortured, shapeless, directionless recitativo passages that so stronly mark most contemporary scores. At times the pace seems overly rapid, especially in the exposition sections. The defeat and death scenes of acts II and III fare much better. I'd love to hear the original version--I don't much about Mr. Menotti's health, but it would be great if, before he disappears from the scene, he'd oversee the wedding of the original and revised versions. As it stands, one wishes Mr. Barber had written the work as a four hour romantic epic after the manner of Wagner.

But I quibble! Go out, buy this set, and demand that your local opera company stages it before too many more years pass--It may someday be viewed as the founding work of a new twentieth century neoromantic movement.

But on the whole, it's a work that deserves to be heard, deserves to be staged. June 13, 2002

Not Shakespeare by any means

This is not the version that flopped when it played at Lincoln Center (that was mostly because of the staging) but a revision. The libretto by Zeffirelli is less than a Monarch Notes version of the sprawling Shakespeare original; but that could be acceptable in an opera libretto if it weren't for the fact that no situation is allowed to develop dramatically before we are off to the next one. (The one exception is the scene in which Cleopatra beats the messenger for telling the truth, and that is relatively too long in this work.) So what remains is the music. A good deal of it is too much like dry recite to be of much interest--but oh, there are magic moments in which the music does what it should do in an opera (and resolutely refuses to in operas by Rorem, Previn, and too many others with delusions of grandeur). The best example comes in the description of Cleopatra's barge when the Chorus joins in and for once the MUSIC says it all, even if you cannot understand the words. For those few moments alone, Barber stands far above the other 20th century tyros who keep showing up on PBS as "Great Performances." This is a recording worth having, if you just forget Shakespeare and listen to Barber. August 24, 1999

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