Cléopâtre
Music by Jules Massenet · libretto by Louis Payen · premiered 1914 · at Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Cléopâtre is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 23 February 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death. 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.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Cléopâtre", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (French pronunciation: [ʒyl emil fʁedeʁik masnɛ]; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. While still a schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France's principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied under Ambroise Thomas, whom he greatly admired. After winning the country's top musical prize, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Jules Massenet", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Jules Massenet
- Cendrillon (1697)
- Don César de Bazan (1844)
- Hérodiade (1877)
- Esclarmonde (1889)
- Grisélidis (1891)
- Chérubin (1905)
- Ariane (1906)
- Bacchus (1909)