Antony and Cleopatra, the latest opera by composer John Adams, opened at the Metropolitan Opera last night—and the reviews are in!
Soprano Julia Bullock stars as Cleopatra alongside baritone Gerald Finley as Marc Antony in the adaptation of Shakespeare's play. They are joined by tenor Paul Appleby as Caesar, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Octavia, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven as Charmian, tenor Brenton Ryan as Eros, baritone Jarrett Ott as Agrippa, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Enobarbus. John Adams takes the podium to conduct his own score.
Read the reviews here.
BachTrack (David Wolfson)
BroadwayWorld (Richard Sasanow)
The Financial Times (Andrew Farach-Colton) *
New York Classical Review (George Grella)
The New York Times (Zachary Woolfe) *
OperaWire (David Salazar)
SlippedDisc (Susan Hall)
TheaterMania (Kenji Fujishima)
The Times (Kevin Ng)
Vulture (Justin Davidson)
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Director Elkhanah Pulitzer makes her Met debut leading a creative team that includes set designer Mimi Lien, costume designer Constance Hoffman, lighting designer David Finn, projection designer Bill Morrison, sound designer Mark Grey, choreographer Annie-B Parson, fight director Chris Dumont, and dramaturg Lucia Scheckner.
Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra is the second opera based on the play to be performed at the Met. Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra was the inaugural production of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. Both Barber’s and Adams’ operas derive their librettos from Shakespeare's text, with Adams supplementing Shakespeare with passages from Plutarch, Virgil, and others.
Performances of Antony and Cleopatra run through June 7. Visit MetOpera.org.
Gerald Finley and Julia Bullock in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock and Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock and Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Gerald Finley and Julia Bullock in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock and Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Paul Appleby in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Elizabeth DeShong and Gerald Finley in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Julia Bullock and Jarrett Ott in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Brenton Ryan and Julia Bullock in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
Elizabeth DeShong in Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera
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