Being Cleopatra: Patricia Petibon

This is Cleopatra's aria Quando Voglio from Giulio Cesare by Antonio Sartorio (1630–1680) sung wonderfully by soprano Patricia Petibon. I really love this piece, but it unfortunately didn't fit my voice well so it won't be on my CD Cleopatra's Voice. At the same time, it is one of the many beautiful (and rare) pieces of music about Cleopatra that should be heard!

Hmmm...I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the whole "opera music video" thing that was first made famous by Anna Netrebko. I understand that it's the opera world's way of making opera more accessible to audiences, but sometimes I think it can look a bit silly!

Click here to buy Patricia Petibon's Rosso: Italian Baroque Arias

Cleopatra's Closet

One-shoulder Cut-out Bra Top Tank
Victoria's Secret
$29.50

Cleopatra Through the Artist's Eye: Johann Liss & William Shakespeare

The Death of Cleopatra
Johann Liss

1622-1624

"Eternity was in our lips and eyes."
William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra

Act I Scene iii

Click here to buy William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Cleopatra's Culinary Adventures: A Taste of Ancient Rome

Buy A Taste of Ancient Rome

Follow the ancient Roman recipes of Apicius, Cato, Coumella, Juvenal, Martial and Petroniussics as you eat like Cleopatra did on her romantic visits to Rome to see Caesar at his estate in Trastevere.

Neither an update for modern palates nor an anthropological study, this engrossing collection reproduces a two-thousand-year-old cuisine to "tempt the reader to explore some appetizing dishes from forgotten historical sources."4 Relying primarily on the writings of Apicius, Cato, Coumella, Juvenal, Martial and Petroniussics , Giacosa recalls the foods and practices of the Roman meal, or cena , the banquet and the tavern. Though established centuries before the introduction of the tomato, eggplant or pasta, ancient Roman cuisine depended on some elements familiar to modern Italian cooking: eggs, vegetables, fish and poultry. Less familiar elements included dormice (served stuffed), thrushes (served roasted) and the widely used sun-fermented fish-based sauce called garum . The 200 recipes here for such representative selections as seasoned mussels and duck in prune sauce are offered in their original Latin and in English; Giocosa also provides additional instructions, as for stuffing pigeons, or substitutions for ingredients like silphium, which is no longer available. The dozens of line drawings of ancient foodstuffs and color plates of Pompeian taverns and food shops complete this culinary portrait. Useful for food historians, a treat for food buffs, the book takes a welcome new look at the origins of a familiar cuisine. Illustrations not seen by PW.
-Reed Business Information, Inc

Buy A Taste of Ancient Rome

Cleopatra's Closet

Bugle Bead And Studded One Shoulder Dress

Get ready for the nightlife with this sexy one shoulder dress. Features bugle beads and studded detailing, gathered stitching at the waist, and bubble hem. Fitted. Lightweight.

Forever21

$24.80

PODCAST In Our Time With Melvyn Brag Uncovers the Real Cleopatra

On In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg, Melvyn Bragg leads an interesting discussion on uncovering the real Cleopatra with experts Catharine Edwards (Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London), Maria Wyke, (Professor of Latin at University College London) and Susan Walker (Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford)

Click here to listen to this discussion!

Being Cleopatra: Kim Cattrall

Sex and the City star, Kim Cattrall has recently finished a run as Cleopatra in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in Liverpool, England.

Cleopatra's Closet

Trina Turk
Palm SpRings Block Classics Tiered Brick Earrings
$118

Cleopatra in the New York Times

A fun article in the New York Times about how to make the politics work in your favor just like Cleopatra did! Written by the author of Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff.

Click here to read Stacy Schiff's New York Times article Cleopatra’s Guide to Good Governance

Click here to buy Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra: A Life

Cleopatra Gets a Grammy Nomination

I am very happy to announce that Ars Lyrica, a Houston based baroque ensemble, has been nominated for Best Opera Recording in the 2011 Grammy Awards for their world-premier recording of "Marc Antonio e Cleopatra" by Johann Adolf Hasse.

The music in this opera is absolutely gorgeous, and it's a pity that it is not performed more. I will be performing one of Cleopatra's arias from Hasse's "Marc Antonio e Cleopatra" on my CD, Cleopatra's Voice (available in the spring of 2011).

The other nominees in the category of Best Opera Recording include:

Berg: "Lulu" - Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House

Saariaho: "L'Amour De Loin" - Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Rundfunkchor Berlin

Shchedrin: "The Enchanted Wanderer" - Orchestra and Chorus Of The Mariinsky Theatre

Sullivan: "Ivanhoe" - BBC National Orchestra Of Wales; Adrian Partington Singers

and of course...

Hasse: "Marc Antonio e Cleopatra" - Ars Lyrica

The Grammy Awards will air on CBS, February 13.

Click here to buy Ars Lyrica's "Marc Antonio e Cleopatra" by Hasse

EXHIBITION Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

The Cincinnati Museum Center announced that National Geographic's "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt" will open Feb. 18, 2011 in the center's 15,000-square-foot special exhibition space.

The exhibition premiered at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute in June to great success. The exhibition features 150 artifacts and multimedia displays to tell the story and answer questions about the legendary Cleopatra.

Future stops of this touring exhibition have yet to be announced.

Click here to buy tickets and to be up to dat of when this exhibition is coming to a museum near you!

Cleopatra in the News: Cleopatra's Crown

A thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden found that Cleopatra was not ancient Egypt's only female pharaoh, in fact, she wasn't even the first female pharaoh. It has been discovered that her crown belonged to Queen Arsinoë II (316-270 B.C), who ruled as pharaoh and high priestess with her brother/husband (a normal practice withing this particular family), 200 years before Cleopatra. Queen Arsinoë is said to have been a very important figure in Egypt. She was was a political and religious force and was praised at the same esteem as goddesses Hathor and Isis. In addition, Maria Nilsson from the University of Gothenburg adds, "She was no ordinary woman. She fought in battles, and even participated in the Olympics, where she won three events for harnessed horses." 200 years after her death, she was still honored by the people of Egypt. There was the Arsinoëion which was a shrine built in her honor in Alexandria and the Arsinoëia which was a festival created for her. It was not a surprise that Cleopatra chose to wear her same crown.

With a bit of a dramatic life, she married at the age of 16 to Lysimachus of Thrace, a 60-year-old general of Ptolemy I, where she gained much wealth and honors in Greece. 18 years later when Lysimachus died, she married her half-brother, Ptolemy Keraunus. The marriage ended when Keraunus killed two of Arsinoë's three sons. Arsinoë returned to Egypt and married her brother King Ptolemy II.

While the crown was never found, it was sculpted on 158 Egyptian relief scenes with dates spanning of about 400 years. The symbols are said to represent the qualities of the queen. The crown was also used as a model for a crown that was made for the goddess Hathor in return for her protection of Egyptians during the civil war.

The study also found that this crown was particularly special, since it differed from the usual Egyptian headdress:

-The red crown symbolizes the rule of Lower Egypt

-The ram horns and the feather plume symbolize Amon, the ram god of Egypt.

-The cow horns and solar disc symbolize the goddess Hathor and the harmony between male and female

Click here to read Rossella Lorenzi's article Did female Egyptian pharaoh rule before Cleopatra?

Cleopatra's Closet

Princess Layered Necklace

Long necklace features multiple layered chain strands with metal castings and chain fringe detail. Necklace falls 15 inches from adjustable clasp closure.

ArdenB

$13.99

Thank you so much for your support!

Thank you so much for your support. Your donation means a lot to me! Here are some other ways you can help Being Cleopatra!

Buy Cleopatra's Voice now! I think you will really like it...

Buy it now!

...don't believe me, click on a song below to listen to some free clips now!

Or you can "Like" my Facebook page

Buy it now!

Cleopatra Through the Artist's Eye: Jean-Léon Gérôme

Cleopatra Before Caesar

Jean-Léon Gérôme

oil on canvas

1866
After being driven from the palace in Alexandria by her brother/husband Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra meets Julius Caesar by emerging from a roll of carpet.

"It was one of the more unusual homecomings in history. Many queens have risen from obscurity, but Cleopatra is the only one to have emerged on the world stage from inside a sturdy sack, the kind of bag into which one customarily stuffed rolls of papyrus or transported a small fortune in gold."
~From pg 16 of Stacy Schiff's book Cleopatra: A Life

Click here to buy Stacy Schiff's book Cleopatra: A Life

Cleopatra's Closet

I Cried For You: Metal and Jersey Gown

Balancing an open back with a high neck and maxi skirt, sass & bide's black jersey gown makes an elegant choice for evening. Wear this crochet-embellished style with your hair pulled back and skyscraping sandals to recreate the runway look.

Sass & Bide

$749

Cleopatra's Beauty Secrets: The Papaya

Papaya contains enzymes which will remove the dead outer layers of skin leaving your face velvety smooth

~Cleopatra's Skin Care~

Mash up a fresh papaya
Apply to face and leave it on for 10 minutes

Lay down and rest with your feet higher than your head while you wait

When the 10 minutes are up, wash first with warm water and then with cold water

Read more about Cleopatra's skin care!

Cleopatra's Closet

Sequin Kimono Top
A kimono style woven top that features a satin trimmed boat neck, and sequin detailing throughout. Long line cut. Finished hem. No lining. Lightweight.

Forever21

$28.00

PODCAST Cleopatra: A Life

Click here to buy the book Cleopatra: A Life

On November 16, I went to the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Public Library for an extremely interesting lecture given by Stacy Schiff, the author of Cleopatra: A Life. Click here to listen to the podcast!

Click here to buy the book Cleopatra: A Life

Cleopatra in Vogue: Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women. However, I don't think this Cleopatra inspired dress, designed by Zac Posen, was the right choice to wear to the Vogue Fashion Fund Awards on November 16, 2010.

Read the full story here!

Cleopatra's Voice: The Beginning

The pressure of the opera world was starting to take a toll on me. I was feeling so uninspired until my mentor, Scott Farthing, said, "Don't pick music based on fitting into a voice category, pick a music based on characters you connect with." A day later, I had the idea for the CD, Cleopatra's Voice. A CD completely dedicated to vocal music written about one extraordinary character, Cleopatra.

This project has been completely overwhelming as well as completely wonderful! I've been on the hunt for any music about Cleopatra I can get my hands on. Most of this music is rarely or, in some cases, never performed. As a result, the search has been frustrating but also rewarding when I have found a gorgeous jewel of a piece that the no one has heard.

Being Cleopatra will document the adventures in making Cleopatra's Voice as I become the character of Cleopatra.