“Antony and Cleopatra“ Moving Moment, featuring Gerald Finley and Amina Edris

On the eve of battle, the Roman general Mark Antony shares a moment of intimacy with the woman he loves, the woman he will fight for: the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. By abdicating his responsibilities in Rome to rule as a king by Cleopatra’s side, Antony has angered his former ally Caesar, sparking war across the Mediterranean. Now, Antony’s fleet prepares to fight Caesar’s on the waves off Actium, Greece. And Cleopatra herself has come to personally help Antony into his armor. The kindness of the gesture moves him. He kneels before her, expressing his hope that she should witness his mastery in warfare — and feel his love for her. “O love,” he sings, “that thou could see my wars today! O love, that thou couldst know my royal occupation! O love, that thou couldst feel my heart today! Thou should see a master’s work within it.“ But danger lies on the seas of Actium. And love alone will not be enough to save them. Bass-baritone Gerald Finley and soprano Amina Edris gear up for war in John Adams’s opera “Antony and Cleopatra,” on stage now through October 5, 2022