[Met Performance] CID:208000

Opening Night {82}, World Premiere, New Production, In the presence of the composer, Commission, General Manager: Rudolf Bing, American Opera

Antony and Cleopatra
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, September 16, 1966 Broadcast
Broadcast Broadcast


Debut : Bruce Scott, Ron Bottcher, Hope Clarke, Alvin Ailey




Antony and Cleopatra (1)
Samuel Barber | Franco Zeffirelli
Antony
Justino Díaz

Cleopatra
Leontyne Price

Caesar
Jess Thomas

Enobarbus
Ezio Flagello

Charmian
Rosalind Elias

Iras
Belén Amparan

Mardian
Andrea Velis

Messenger
Paul Franke

Alexas
Raymond Michalski

Soothsayer
Lorenzo Alvary

Rustic
Clifford Harvuot

Octavia
Mary Ellen Pracht

Maecenas
Russell Christopher

Agrippa
John Macurdy

Lepidus
Robert Nagy

Thidias
Robert Goodloe

Soldier of Caesar
Gabor Carelli

Eros
Bruce Scott [Debut]

Dolabella
Gene Boucher

Canidius
Lloyd Strang

Demetrius
Norman Giffin

Scarus
Ron Bottcher [Debut]

Decretas
Louis Sgarro

Captain
Dan Marek

Guard
Robert Schmorr

Guard
Edward Ghazal

Guard
Norman Scott

Soldier of Antony
John Trehy

Watchman
Paul De Paola

Watchman
Luis Forero

Sentinel
Peter Sliker

Dance
Sally Brayley

Dance
Nira Paaz

Dance
Rhodie Jorgenson

Dance
Hope Clarke [Debut]

Dance
Jan Mickens

Dance
Lance Westergard


Conductor
Thomas Schippers


Production
Franco Zeffirelli

Choreographer
Alvin Ailey [Debut]





ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA received eight performances in one season.

FUNDING:
Production a gift of the Francis Goelet Foundation

Review 1:

Review and account of performance by Harold Rogers in The Christian Science Monitor

BARBER OPERA LAUNCHED AMID GLITTER

PREMIÈRE INAUGURATES MET'S NEW HOME

In at least one way it was like all opening nights of grand opera in any opera house in the world. The spectacle in the audience ran competition with the spectacle on stage. But there were unique and unforgettable features at the Friday night opening of the Metropolitan Opera. It was a double world première: the new Opera House at Lincoln Center made its debut with a new opera inside. Spectators were dividing their attention three ways - on Samuel Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra," on the stunningly appointed auditorium, and on their elegant selves.

Seated in the center of the state box was Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, flanked on either side by an array of notables including the President of the Philippines and Mrs. Ferdinand E. Marcos; Vice-Chancellor of West Germany and Mrs. Erich Mende; Mayor John V. Lindsay, and Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The First Lady's box also included John D. Rockefeller 3rd, chairman of the board of Lincoln Center; Lauder Greenway, chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Opera; Anthony A. Bliss, president of the Metropolitan Opera Association; and Wallace K. Harrison, architect of the new house.

Mr. Harrison has created a modern structure that purrs with the warmth of tradition. The graceful lines of the curving staircases are just right for displaying people. Gold predominates in the great overlapping circles in the ceiling, around the proscenium, and on the fronts of the scalloped boxes. Additional richness is added by the royal red of the carpets and the plush seats. The chandeliers - in the foyer and in the auditorium - are like fireworks that have been frozen at their most dazzling moment.

This historic event opened with the National Anthem, conducted by Thomas Schippers and sung with unusual conviction by almost everybody.

After appropriate speeches with thank-yous from John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Mr. Bliss, Mr. Barber's new opera began. Franco Zeffirelli, who adapted the libretto from Shakespeare, designed the production and staged it.

Whether in Egypt of in Rome, the Sphinx or the Forum looked as if shrouded in the kind of steel scaffolding we see on buildings getting their faces lifted. These odd structures - a network of perpendicular and vertical lines - move in, out, and around as needed for the many scenes; and in Act II a gigantic Sphinx spins a curious route on the stage, disclosing at one time the love nest of Antony and Cleopatra, at another the slain after Antony loses the battle to Caesar, and still again the scene of Antony's falling on his sword. Thus we have the steely unrealistic settings in anachronistic contrast to Mr. Zeffirelli's superbly realistic costumes. Yet the whole thing adds up to an impressive total - a kind of latter-day "Aida," if you will. (There's even something of a grand march, with Caesar astride a white charger.)

Mr. Barber's score for "Antony and Cleopatra" - like that of his "Vanessa" - is strongly based on the Romantic period. One might label it "Egyptological modern' with a slight American accent; some of the harmonies splay out in open position, typical of the American sound. But his tonal structure is overlaid with the gauze of harps and flutes; the orchestra shimmers with trills and tremolos that make the music pleasant listening, if not always dynamically so. At times tedium was definitely on hand, and one wonders if the score should not have the benefit of the doubt and another hearing when not competing with an occasion. Mr. Barber's melodies sing well; they are gracious to the voice. He was fortunate to have some of the Metropolitan's finest artists to elucidate the beauty of his melodic writing.

In the title roles were Justino Diaz as Antony and Leontyne Price as Cleopatra. Mr. Diaz, a relatively young member of the company has now grown to a stature of full professional excellence. His strong and steady baritone is beautifully handled; his handsome voice is matched by his face and figure. Miss Price had her magnificent moments as the petulant queen. Her soprano has not only an extraordinary range; it is capable of many timbres, silky smooth or rasping harsh, as the mood require. Both she and Mr. Diaz were commendably supported by Rosalind Elias as Charmian and Jess Thomas and Mary Ellen Pracht as Caesar and Octavia. Though the musicians played superbly under Mr. Schippers' heated direction, Mr. Barber's opera will have to wait for a firmer appraisal. Many were hoping that "Antony and Cleopatra" would outshine "Vanessa." To my ears - on first hearing - it did not.

Rebroadcast on Sirius Metropolitan Opera Radio

Production photos of Antony and Cleopatra by Louis Mélançon/Metropolitan Opera.



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