Tiroler Festspiele - Berlioz: CLÉOPÂTRE | Giacomo Puccini: SUOR ANGELICA

Cleopatra is a cantata by the 26-year-old Hector Berlioz, which he submitted for the Prix de Rome competition. It tells in the form of a monologue the last minutes that the Egyptian queen has left after taking the deadly poison. The scene is one of Berlioz's most impressive compositions. Similar to Suor Angelica, it is characterized by a luminous clarity.  Suor Angelica is one of the lesser-known operas by Giacomo Puccini and is part of the Trittico, which also includes Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi. The story takes place in a Tuscan convent in the 17th century and tells the story of the nun Angelica, who, pressured and harassed by the abbess, learns of her child's death and poisons herself out of grief. The music is unusually transparent and airy for Puccini.