TELEVISION OPERA REVIEW : ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ Arrives in O.C. Tonight on KOCE

Shown nationally in December, the new Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Samuel Barber’s “Antony and Cleopatra” on the PBS series, “Great Performances,” finally arrives locally tonight at 9 on KOCE Channel 50.

Don’t groan. “Antony” will not be shown on KCET, the PBS outlet in Los Angeles, until April.

Barber, dead these 11 years, suffered deeply, it has long been reported, from the failure of the original “Antony,” produced lavishly by Franco Zeffirelli for the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera house in Lincoln Center in 1966.

Eight years later, the composer wrote a new version--with his longtime collaborator, composer Gian Carlo Menotti, as co-librettist--requiring a smaller cast, demanding of less spectacle and dramatically tighter, than the original. This version, first introduced in a conservatory staging in 1975, reached a major operatic stage only last October, when Lyric Opera of Chicago mounted it.

Less than two hours in length, the revised “Antony” seems a masterpiece of compression, though still uncompelling as drama; it remains, in the words of one critic, “a brisk budget tour of the play’s events.” Barber’s functional, sometimes beautiful music falls short of his higher standard.

The Chicago cast is dominated by a quartet of charismatic international singers: Catherine Malfitano (sleek and exotic looking as Cleopatra), Richard Cowan (an imposing, virile and authoritative Antony), Jacque Trussel (a faceted, commanding Caesar Octavius) and Eric Halfvarson (a solid Enobarbus).

They mug more than necessary and can look very unpretty while placing their tones, but their singing is by and large handsome in sound and convincing in this dramatic context. Two high points, each illuminating the close of its respective act, demand mention: the Love Duet and Cleopatra’s Farewell.

The supporting cast--including Wendy White, Nancy Maultsby, Paul Kreider, Philip Zawisza and James Ramlet--provides engaging cameos. The entire ensemble, including a most accomplished chorus, occupy Michael Yeargan’s airy, evocative and rich settings and costumes stylishly.

Conductor Richard Buckley holds it all together astutely, while sweeping through the score with great affection and wonderful detailing; the orchestra responds in kind.