LAURO ROSSI (1812–1885)

 

Cleopatra

 

Marco Antonio - Alessandro Liberatore

Ottavio Cesare - Paolo Pecchioli

Diomede - Sebastian Catana

Proculejo - William Corrò

Cleopatra - Dimitra Theodossiou

Ottavia - Tiziana Carraro

 

Melodramma in Four Acts

Libretto by Marco D’Arienzo

Filmed at the Arena Sferisterio, Macerata, Italy, 24/29 July 2008

 

Form - Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana

Coro Lirico Marchigiano ‘V. Bellini’ / David Crescenzi

Director, set and costume designer: Pier Luigi Pizzi

 

First performed at the Teatro Regio, Turin, on 5 March 1876, Lauro Rossi’s penultimate opera Cleopatra caught the public’s attention in the wake of Verdi’s Aïda (1871).

 

Like that better-known work, it contains some wonderful arias and set pieces, including a marvellous Act 1 banquet scene, Cleopatra’s Act 2 aria, the thrilling ensemble that closes Act 3, and the confrontation between Cleopatra and Octavian in Act 4, all making for compelling viewing and listening.

 

From the brooding opening scene in which Diomedes foretells the fall of Egypt to Cleopatra’s death scene, this gripping grand opera by one of Italy’s forgotten masters springs vividly to life in this revival filmed at the 2008 Macerata Sferisterio Festival.

 

Total Running Time: 114:56

NTSC: No Region Coding

Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Dual Layer Disc  Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo  

Dolby Surround 5.0

Worldwide Available

 

Naxos DVD 2110279