191:
glitter of the occasion". Less kindly, the 1966 premiere was retrospectively described as "a hair-curlingly awful production. … The night has gone down in the annals of opera as a landmark of vulgarity and staging excess. Mr. Barber’s score, as we discovered from subsequent exposure to revised excerpts in concert and on records, was to a great extent an innocent victim of the over-all fiasco". The opera was dropped from the Met's repertory after the initial eight performances of the production. The radio broadcast of the premiere, rarely heard after the initial broadcast, was released in 2016, upon the 50th anniversary of the premiere.
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The opera was poorly received by the press, and not enthusiastically received by the public. Among the reasons cited for the opera's lack of success were an "inflated production with problematic technical apparatus, gaudy costumes, overcrowded stage forces, and a press overly attentive to the social
182:
as
Cleopatra. Condensing Shakespeare's text from five acts in over forty scenes to three acts over three hours, Zeffirelli preserved much of the speaking style of the original tragedy. The stage design and costumes were elaborate; the cast was enormous including 22 principal singers, a full chorus,
183:
dozens of extras and a troupe of ballet dancers—a company of 400 performers on stage. Quickly utilizing the limits of the cutting-edge technology of the new opera house, the mammoth production was not without problems. A technical error during early rehearsals broke the house's new
204:
on
February 6, 1975. It was given its European premiere in 1980 in concert version at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, as part of the "Saison Lyrique de Radio France" under its Music Director, Jean-Pierre Marty. There were further productions at the
187:, causing the entire production to be restaged with movable scenery units. A large hydraulic pyramid of steel, brass, and aluminium dominated the stage with fold up sides that famously trapped Price during the dress rehearsal.
951:
700:
Metropolitan Opera Radio broadcast of the
September 16, 1966 world premiere (original edition). Leontyne Price, soprano, Justino Diaz, bass; The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus,
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736:(complete 1975 edition). Esther Hinds, soprano, Jeffrey Wells, bass; The Spoleto Festival Orchestra and Westminster Choir (Joseph Flummerfelt, chorus master),
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Two complete commercial recordings of the opera exist (one of the premiere of the original version, the other of the revision), as well as two scenes sung by
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Barber later revised the opera, with text revisions by Gian-Carlo
Menotti, Barber's partner and the librettist of his first opera,
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810:, 4 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie; managing editor, Christina Bashford. London: Macmillan Press.
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The opera was first performed on
September 16, 1966, commissioned for the opening of the new
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952:"Onstage, It Was 'Antony and Cleopatra'; New Opera by Barber a Bit Lost in Shuffle"
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Kolodin, Irving (1966). "Music to my Ears: Barber’s Antony, after
Zeffirelli".
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Molto
Agitato: The Mayhem Behind the Music at The Metropolitan Opera
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200:. This version was premiered under Menotti's direction at the
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Samuel Barber: Two Scenes from Antony and
Cleopatra, Op. 40
877:
Samuel Barber: A Thematic
Catalogue of the Complete Works
945:, 97–102. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1978.
139:
832:Heyman, Barbara B. (1992). "Antony and Cleopatra".
166:For the world premiere—also the opening of the new
787:The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas
937:Porter, Andrew (1975). "Antony’s Second Chance".
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976:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
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958:. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023
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806:Heyman, Barbara B. (1992). "Barber, Samuel".
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857:Henahan, Donal. "Juilliard Rehabilitating
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911:Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music
789:. New York City: W. W. Norton Co. p. 15.
158:into an edition first performed in 1975.
1166:List of cultural depictions of Cleopatra
941:(February 24): 123–24. Reprinted in his
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765:. New York: Anchor Books. pp. 56-69.
1001:Notes and credits for 1983 recording
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117:in three acts by American composer
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834:The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
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238:Premiere Cast, September 16, 1966
1611:Depictions of Cleopatra in opera
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129:. It was based on the play
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50:, opened with this opera
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1621:English-language operas
1586:Operas by Samuel Barber
1131:The Spread of the Eagle
881:Oxford University Press
865:(February 8, 1975): 13.
1544:Barber Violin Concerto
1363:The School for Scandal
1312:Prayers of Kierkegaard
219:Lyric Opera of Chicago
211:Festival dei Due Mondi
16:Opera by Samuel Barber
836:, 4 vols., edited by
744:NW 322/23/24-2, 1984)
579:Captain of the Guard
1336:Antony and Cleopatra
1281:List of compositions
1096:Antony and Cleopatra
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162:Performance history
137:William Shakespeare
77:William Shakespeare
1551:Gian Carlo Menotti
1517:Other compositions
1379:Adagio for Strings
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870:
862:
858:
853:
833:
807:
802:
786:
762:
757:
733:
711:
707:
697:
688:
677:Peter Sliker
625:Norman Scott
573:Louis Sgarro
560:Ron Bottcher
534:Lloyd Strang
521:Gene Boucher
507:Bruce Scott
455:John Macurdy
358:Andrea Velis
321:
277:Justino Diaz
240:(Conductor:
195:
193:
189:
174:, conductor
165:
141:
130:
109:
108:
107:
69:
18:
1596:1966 operas
718:, soprano;
664:Luis Forero
657:Watchman 2
644:Watchman 1
470:Robert Nagy
390:Soothsayer
371:Paul Franke
294:Jess Thomas
267:Mark Antony
235:Voice type
172:Alvin Ailey
1580:Categories
1454:Excursions
1355:Orchestral
1176:Salad days
1134:(1963; TV)
962:August 11,
749:References
685:Recordings
638:John Trehy
540:Demetrius
364:Messenger
91:1966-09-16
56:Librettist
1493:Capricorn
1479:Concertos
1344:Agnus Dei
1200:Cleopatra
1192:Cleopatra
1107:On screen
972:cite news
670:Sentinel
586:Dan Marek
566:Decretas
556:baritone
530:baritone
527:Canidius
517:baritone
513:Dolabella
479:baritone
436:baritone
406:baritone
301:Enobarbus
250:Cleopatra
221:in 1991.
185:turntable
1567:Category
1495:Concerto
1229:Category
1149:Zulfiqar
995:Archived
618:Guard 3
605:Guard 2
592:Guard 1
476:Thidias
432:Maecenas
421:soprano
351:Mardian
318:Charmian
272:baritone
123:libretto
83:Premiere
66:Based on
1320:Vanessa
1159:Related
553:Scarus
462:Lepidus
447:Agrippa
417:Octavia
403:Rustic
377:Alexas
255:soprano
215:Spoleto
197:Vanessa
89: (
1601:Operas
1509:(1962)
1503:(1945)
1497:(1944)
1488:(1939)
1463:(1949)
1457:(1942)
1449:(1936)
1443:(1932)
1426:(1955)
1418:(1950)
1412:(1978)
1404:(1942)
1396:(1938)
1388:(1936)
1382:(1936)
1374:(1933)
1366:(1931)
1347:(1967)
1339:(1966)
1331:(1959)
1323:(1958)
1315:(1954)
1307:(1953)
1299:(1947)
1211:(2007)
1203:(1917)
1195:(1912)
1099:(2022)
1091:(1966)
1072:(1677)
918:
887:
844:
814:
793:
769:
595:tenor
582:tenor
543:tenor
492:tenor
466:tenor
367:tenor
354:tenor
121:. The
1525:Medea
1080:Opera
1064:1620)
673:bass
660:bass
647:bass
634:bass
621:bass
608:bass
502:Eros
451:bass
393:bass
380:bass
338:Iras
289:tenor
232:Role
225:Roles
115:opera
30:Opera
1145:(TV)
1143:1974
1138:1972
1126:(TV)
1124:1959
1119:1913
1114:1908
978:link
964:2023
916:ISBN
885:ISBN
842:ISBN
812:ISBN
791:ISBN
767:ISBN
306:bass
209:and
46:The
1181:Asp
1038:'s
861:”.
728:RCA
213:in
150:in
146:in
135:by
75:by
32:by
1582::
1062:c.
974:}}
970:{{
954:.
823:^
778:^
722:,
714:.
710:,
693:.
320:,
244:)
1264:e
1257:t
1250:v
1060:(
1028:e
1021:t
1014:v
980:)
966:.
893:.
848:.
818:.
797:.
773:.
93:)
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