the gorgeous eastern coloring of the character.” “What is most astonishing in the character of Cleopatra, is its antithetical construction–its consistent inconsistency. Anna Jameson, writing on Shakespeare’s heroines in 1832, praised her “mental accomplishments. Nineteenth-century writers and artists had to deal with her sensuality in an age that valued women’s modesty. ⇒ Related: Cleopatra and Fake News: How ancient Roman political needs created a mythic temptress At times seductive, childlike, fierce, fearful, and brave, she fascinates not only her lover Antony but the audience as well. To reduce Shakespeare’s Cleopatra to the divine resplendence of Collier’s portrayal though would be to miss out on her many complexities as a character. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Inv.-Nr.: SM 22c.121 (The opera premiered in Vienna in 1791, shortly before Mozart’s death.) Stage set by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for Die Zauberflöte, Act 2, Starry Hall of the Queen of the Night, 1815. as much Magic Flute as Antony and Cleopatra.” Weis refers here to the majestic, mysterious character of the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s beloved opera The Magic Flute, which takes place in ancient Egypt. Shakespeare scholar René Weis calls her “a queen-of-the-night Constance Collier,” and describes this production as “deeply operatic. screaming populace acclaiming the Queen, half in hate, half in superstitious fear and joy.” Cleopatra, robed in silver, crowned in silver, carrying a golden scepter and the symbol of the sacred golden calf in her hand, went in procession through the streets of Alexandria, the. Tree elaborated this into a great tableau. This 1906-07 London production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is considered a high point in the stage history of that play, with director/actor Herbert Beerbohm-Tree sparing no expense in creating spectacular sets and costumes.Ĭollier later wrote in her memoir, “There is only a mention in the play of Cleopatra appearing as the goddess Isis.
In the image above, Constance Collier, magnificent as the dying Cleopatra, sits on her throne in a dimly-lit room, light sparkling off her crown, belt and spangled train. “Constance Collier”, Photograph, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library Digital Collections
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