Who Is Cleopatra?
From 41BC to September 2022, the persona of Cleopatra has been modeled as an archetype of female power and beauty. Yet—as with most tellings of history—her story has been mostly written by men who never knew her.
Providing another context, in concurrence with John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra premiere, San Francisco Opera’s Diversity, Equity and Community department presents a panel of women arts leaders to ask and answer: In the struggle for equal rights, who is Cleopatra? [mis]judged, [mis]treated and [mis]portrayed?
Join us Tuesday, September 20 at 5:30 p.m. as our Women in Arts panel forcefully addresses these questions. Moderated by singer and stage director Erin Neff, the panel includes Antony and Cleopatra’s Director Elkhanah Pulitzer, and African-American Shakespeare Company Founder and Executive Director Sherri Young, along with other noted Bay Area female art makers and historians.
An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.
Young photo by and copyright 2015 Lance Hantley; Pulitzer photo by Sarah Robinson; Cleopatra statue photo by Don-vip.
The Commonwealth Club of California
United States
Rita Lucarelli
Associate Professor of Egyptology, University of California, Berkeley
Elkhanah Pulitzer
Director, Antony and Cleopatra 2022, San Francisco Opera
Sherri Young
Founder and Executive Director, African-American Shakespeare Company
Erin Neff
Speaker; Singer; Stage Director; Voice Instructor—Moderator
