Barber: Antony and Cleopatra

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.

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.