I went to the latest revival of Aida at the Royal Opera last night. Act 1 got off to a rocky start as Carlo Ventre was finding his place on the large set and stage. Celeste Aida ended in thunder, rather than tenderness as the love aria demanded. Olga Borodina returned to this production as the bold and vengeful Amneris - great voice with clarity. Liudmyla Monastyrska was the not-so-last-minute cast change to replace the pregnant Micaela Carosi as Aida. She was not bad - slightly on the uncertain side in Act 1 but gradually gained strength.
Act 2 had probably too much going on. While David McVicar's production delivered the "grand opera" feel - the thumping, slapping and lashing of the dancers coupled with blood and nakedness meant one finds it hard to focus on the music. Though visually stunning. And I was not sure why there weren't any singing slaves: the chorus members were "priests" and the actors and acrobats were "slaves" with their mouths shut. So the slave's chorus parts were sung by the priests. Not convinced by such economy.
Acts 3 and 4 were quite well done. Possibly because there was less stage direction and distractions, but also all solo singers settled down quite well by now. Fabio Luisi took firm control in the pit.
Act 2 had probably too much going on. While David McVicar's production delivered the "grand opera" feel - the thumping, slapping and lashing of the dancers coupled with blood and nakedness meant one finds it hard to focus on the music. Though visually stunning. And I was not sure why there weren't any singing slaves: the chorus members were "priests" and the actors and acrobats were "slaves" with their mouths shut. So the slave's chorus parts were sung by the priests. Not convinced by such economy.
Acts 3 and 4 were quite well done. Possibly because there was less stage direction and distractions, but also all solo singers settled down quite well by now. Fabio Luisi took firm control in the pit.
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