Bill Barclay, music director of Shakespeare’s Globe, talks about bringing Florent Schmitt’s Antony & Cleopatra (1920) to the Hollywood Bowl and the Barbican Centre.

Florent Schmitt’s incidental music to Antoine et Cléopâtre, Op. 69 is one of the composer’s most intriguing works – a bright star in the constellation of sumptuous “orientalist” compositions created by this French master. The music was composed for André Gide’s 1920 adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, with the role of Cleopatra performed by the celebrated […]

Is Florent Schmitt’s Antony & Cleopatra (1920) beginning the transition from “rarity” to “rep we know”?

This year, Florent Schmitt’s opulent score will be presented by two leading orchestras — the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony — in collaboration with Shakespeare’s Globe. It’s quite interesting to witness a piece of classical music make the journey from being a rarity to becoming mainstream. I can think of several examples, headlined by […]