Schmitt: Antoine et Cléopâtre *****
BBCSO/Oramo, Barbican, 4th October 2016
The glut of Shakespeare400 celebrations have seen the usual suspects wheeled out in musical celebration of the Bard – Mendelssohn’s Dream, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Verdi’s Falstaff leading the pack. The BBCSO and Sakari Oramo plumped for one of the more obscure works, based on one of the less popular plays. Florent Schmitt composed his incidental music for André Gide’s production of Antony and Cleopatra staged at the Paris Opéra in 1920. In collaboration with actors from The Globe, Schmitt and Shakespeare were brought vividly to life.
Janie Dee (Cleopatra) and Simon Paisley Day (Antony)
© BBC | Mark Allan
Read the full review on Bachtrack.