Samuel Barber's three-act opera Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned for the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. The libretto was by the maverick theatrical genius from Italy Franco Zeffirelli, and the story taken from the play by William Shakespeare of the same name. The premiere took place on September 1, and starred the young Leontyne Price and Justino Diaz. Although the sets, costumes, and staging were of the best, the production as a whole fell completely flat, and critics blamed the score as much as anything else, saying that neither the music nor the staging was effectively done; there were too many contradictory styles and unclear intentions on the part of both composer and producers.

The setting of the opera is first century, B.C. Rome, and the story concerns the tragic love affair between the Roman general Antony and Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. There are at least eight other operatic settings of the tale, many from earlier ages, and in different musical styles. Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti revised the opera for a 1975 production at The Juilliard School, also in New York City. The revised version was much more successful.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.