TV Reviews : ‘Cleopatra’ Arrives, Overdue, on KCET

Shown nationally in December, the new Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Samuel Barber’s “Antony and Cleopatra” was broadcast belatedly in Orange County in January. Tonight, even more belatedly, it can be seen on KCET Channel 28--and heard on KUSC-FM (91.5)--at 9.

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. This version requires a smaller cast, demands less stage spectacle and is dramatically tighter than the original. First introduced in a conservatory staging in 1975, the rewritten work 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 largely uncompelling as drama; it remains, in the words of one critic, “a brisk budget tour of the play’s events.” And 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 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. And the entire ensemble, including a very accomplished chorus, inhabits 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.