- Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned for the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. The librettist, Franco Zeffirelli, based his text on Shakespeare’s play by the same name. Zeffirelli’s libretto follows the Bard’s play quite closely.
- Unfortunately, the premiere was met with scathing reviews, which caused Barber to spend the next several years revising the opera. The work reentered the performance space in 1975 under the direction of Barber’s longtime partner and fellow composer, Gian Carlo Menotti.
- Barber wrote the role of Cleopatra for soprano Leontyne Price, with whom Barber maintained a close, collaborative relationship.1
Sources
- Barbara B. Heyman, “Barber, Samuel,” Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press (2001), accessed August 16, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000001994.
Cut IDs
24651