Jules Massenet : Cléopâtre, ballet music from Act III of the opera (1890s, premiered 1914)

[@maxmerry8470]

Creative, colourful and contrasting sequence of dances. My favourites are "Amazons" (3:52 - 5:43) and the Dick Bartonesque "Scythians" (7:44 - 9:20).

[@markbeck8384]

I had heard bits of Cleopatre, but not the ballet suite. I generally always like his opera ballets: they always seem very visual, rhythmic, suggesting: dance-variety. I liked this one too. I wish they weren't cut from opera performances so often. Thanks

[@yp3424]

There's a recent trend to re-view old operas with their original balletmusic. J.Massenet kept the vast french tradition. Fortunately, L. Lucas arranged many of his themes from various works (operas, ballets, suites), for a ballet named "Manon". Strangely, no melody from Massenet's brilliant opera was included in that ballet!

[@yp3424]

Before his death in 1912, J.Massenet was working again on "Cléopâtre" and another ambitious "spanish" libretto after "Don Quichotte"(1910). Though, unfortunately, he didn't make it. Luckily, Leighton Lucas "immortalized" the greatest part of these ballet scenes (from 2nd to the finale) by attaching them to his famous ballet "Manon".