Cléopâtre

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title: "Cléopâtre" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["operas", "1914-operas", "french-language-operas", "operas-by-jules-massenet", "opera-world-premieres-at-the-opéra-de-monte-carlo", "operas-set-in-ancient-egypt", "depictions-of-cleopatra-in-opera", "cultural-depictions-of-augustus"] description: "Opera by Jules Massenet" topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cléopâtre" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Opera by Jules Massenet ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox opera"]

Field	Value
name	Cléopâtre
composer	Jules Massenet
image	{{CSS image crop
Image	Jules Massenet by Eugène Pirou.jpg
bSize	250
cWidth	220
cHeight	270
oTop	30
oLeft	15
Location	center
Alt	Middle-aged man, receding hair, moustached, looking at camera
image_upright	0.8
caption	The composer, Jules Massenet, photographed by Eugène Pirou, 1895
librettist	Louis Payen
language	French
premiere_date
premiere_location	Opéra de Monte Carlo
::

| name = Cléopâtre | composer = Jules Massenet | image = {{CSS image crop |Image = Jules Massenet by Eugène Pirou.jpg |bSize = 250 |cWidth = 220 |cHeight = 270 |oTop = 30 |oLeft = 15 |Location = center |Alt=Middle-aged man, receding hair, moustached, looking at camera | | alt = | image_upright = 0.8 | caption = The composer, Jules Massenet, photographed by Eugène Pirou, 1895 | librettist = Louis Payen | language = French | based_on = | premiere_date = | premiere_location = Opéra de Monte Carlo

Cléopâtre is one of three operas by Massenet to be premiered posthumously; the others are Panurge (1913) and Amadis (1922). The piece has seen limited revival since its premiere and has a modest modern recording history.

Performance history

Though the opera was written for the mezzo Lucy Arbell, the role of Cléopâtre was created by the soprano Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova. The Chicago Opera Association presented the first American performance on 10 January 1916 with Kuznetsova. The first New York performance was on 23 January 1919 with Mary Garden. It was revived at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 1990 conducted by Patrick Fournillier with Kathryn Harries in the title role. This production yielded a live recording (on two CDs) issued by Koch Schwann.

New York saw a revival of Cléopâtre on June 26, 1997 by Opera Manhattan at Alice Tully Hall with Marion Capriotti in the title role (having filled in for Florence Quivar at the last minute), conducted by Gabriel Guimarães. In 2004, a concert version was performed at the Liceu in Barcelona with Montserrat Caballé. A concert performance conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev as part of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2012 featured Sophie Koch in the title role, Ludovic Tézier as Marc-Antoine and Véronique Gens as Octavie.

Rodney Milnes described the opera as "enjoyable, emotionally vigorous Massenet in his grand opera manner", and noted that "by this stage of his career (1912) the composer wasted little time with grand opera trappings - he gets through the plot (including obligatory ballet) in under two hours", while pointing out "the simplicity, the superb word-setting impress the most, as well as the clarity with which he delineates the opposing sound-worlds - sinuous chromaticism for Egypt, near-Elgarian noblesse for Rome".

Roles

::data[format=table] | Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 23 February 1914 (Conductor: Léon Jehin) | |---|---|---| | Cléopâtre | mezzo-soprano | Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova | | Marc-Antoine | baritone | Alfred Maguénat | | Octavie | soprano | Lilian Grenville | | Spakos | tenor | Charles Rousselière | | Amnhès | baritone | Pierre Clauzure | | Charmion | soprano | Carton | | Ennius | baritone | Feiner | | Sévérus | baritone | Ghastau | | L'Esclave de la Porte | baritone | Gasparini | | Adamos | male dancer | Magliani | | A voice | baritone | Lozé | | Octave | mute | | | Chorus: Roman chiefs and soldiers, Greek and Egyptian slaves, nuptial train, crowd in the tavern, Cléopâtre's followers; Dancers – slaves, Lydiennes, Chaldiennes, Phyrigieens, Amazons, Scythians, tavern jugglers. | | | ::

Synopsis

The story concerns the ill-fated love of Cléopâtre and Marc-Antoine. Marc-Antoine sees Cléopâtre for the first time following the conquering of Egypt and is instantly entranced by her beauty. Dismissing his obligations in Rome, Marc-Antoine goes with Cléopâtre, and even after returning to fulfill his promise of marriage to Octavia, he is lured back by lust and jealousy. Being told, falsely, that Cléopâtre has been killed, Marc-Antoine falls on his own sword and is then brought to Cléopâtre. As she watches him die by her side, she pulls a poisonous snake from a basket of fruit and clutches it to her breast.

Noted arias

• Act 3 – Cléopâtre: "J'ai versé le poison dans cette coupe d'or"

References

Notes

References

1. [http://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/Portals/0/docs/Pfingsten2012_LOWRES.pdf Cleopatra – Im Labyrinth von Eros und Macht : Salzburger Pfingsfestspiele] accessed 10 August 2014.
2. Milnes, Rodney. Opera on disc - Cléopâtre, Massenet. ''[[Opera (British magazine). Opera]]'', February 1994, Vol.45 No.2, p248.
3. IMSLP Heugel 1914 vocal score
4. {{Almanacco

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