Editing Samuel Barber (section)

===Opera===
Menotti supplied the [[libretto]] for Barber's opera ''[[Vanessa (opera)|Vanessa]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Opera Lover's Companion|last=Osborne|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Osborne (music writer)|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-300-10440-0|location=New Haven, Connecticut|chapter=Samuel Barber}}</ref> (Menotti also contributed the libretto for Barber's chamber opera ''A Hand of Bridge''.) In 1956, using his vocal training, Barber played and sang the score of ''Vanessa'' for the Metropolitan Opera's general manager, [[Rudolf Bing]], who accepted the work. It premiered in January 1958. ''Vanessa'' won the 1958 [[Pulitzer Prize]] and gained acclaim as the first American grand opera.

Barber's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' was commissioned for the new [[Metropolitan Opera|Metropolitan Opera House]] at [[Lincoln Center]], and premiered at the opening of Opera House on September 16, 1966. The elaborate production, designed by [[Franco Zeffirelli]], was plagued with technical disasters; it also overwhelmed and obscured Barber's music, which most critics derided as uncharacteristically weak and unoriginal. The critical rejection of music that Barber considered to be among his best sent him into a deep depression. In recent years, a revised version of ''Antony and Cleopatra'', for which Menotti provided collaborative assistance, has enjoyed some success.<ref name=Smith2002>{{harvnb|Smith|2002}}, citing {{harvnb|Heyman|1992}} as a general reference.</ref><ref name=Heymann1992>{{harvnb|Heyman|1992|pp=455–458}}, citing {{harvnb|Henahan|1975}} and {{harvnb|Valente|1983}}.</ref>