La Cleopatra (Cimarosa) Explained

Italian: La Cleopatra
Type:Opera seria
Composer:Domenico Cimarosa
Librettist:Ferdinando Moretti
Language:Italian
Premiere Location:Theater Eremitage, Saint Petersburg

La Cleopatra (1789) is an opera seria in two acts by composer Domenico Cimarosa with an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Moretti.[1]

Historical background and musical analysis

La Cleopatra was commissioned by Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1788. Cimarosa and Moretti were instructed to keep the opera short and give it a relatively simple plot. As a result, the opera is about a hundred minutes in length which is short for an opera of that period and time. The plot is also very straightforward, lacking the typical plot twists and intrigues of other opera serias of the day. Musically the opera is made up of mostly arias with only a few duets, a quartet, a ballet, and a march. Although music critics have admired the duet at the end of act one, the ballet music, and the final quartet, the opera as a whole is not considered particularly remarkable. The work premiered at the Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 27 September 1789.[2]

Roles

!Role!Voice type!Premiere cast, 27 September 1789
CleopatraAnna Pozzi
AntoniocastratoDomenico Bruni
DomiziotenorGugliemo Jermoli
ArsinoesopranoMarianna Gattoni

Recordings

Sources

References

  1. Web site: La Cleopatra von Domenico Cimarosa . 2008-06-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080419034212/http://www.operone.de/opern/cleopatracim.html . 2008-04-19 . dead .
  2. http://www.operatoday.com/content/2006/09/cimarosa_cleopa.php Opera Today : CIMAROSA: Cleopatra