"A" is for "Aida"

 

Cover of July 19, 2007 Cincinnati Post "Timeout" section (Cincinnati Opera "Aida" poster image)

  Grand finale of Cincinnati Opera's 2007 summer festival will be Verdi's "Aida."
Performances are July 25, 27, 29 (a Sunday matinee) and 31.
   Each of the other operas heard this summer has had two performances each. So how does "Aida" rate four?
   The alphabet has something to do with it.
   "'Aida' is 'A' on the A-list of best-selling operas, metaphorically and
literally," said Patricia K. Beggs, general director. "The opera did
three performances in 2000, which was the last time we did it, and,
based on the amount of traffic we had at the box office, we felt we
could have sold a fourth."
   "Aida," the tragic love story of a captive Ethiopian princess (Aida) and an Egyptian general (Radames), is "one of the greatest operas ever written. Period," said artistic director Evans Mirageas.
   Commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt and premiered in 1871 in Cairo, it has always been popular, he said. "Some of the operas in the standard repertoire have waxed and waned in their popularity but 'Aida' has never, ever lost its
fascination for the public."
   Ancient Egypt is part of the appeal, fueled regularly by archeological finds like the identification last month of 15th-century B.C. Queen Hatshepsut's mummy.
   "Though it is the grandest of grand operas, it's still a very human story to
which every one can relate, because central to it are some very basic themes we all face in our lives. Loyalty, for one thing. Does Aida follow her heart and protect her lover Radames? Or does she obey her father and betray Radames, but save her people?
   "Who of us has not been, even in a much less dramatic situation, forced to
choose between two options, both of which are going to result in someone getting hurt?
   Jealousy is another, said Mirageas.
"Amneris (the pharaoh's daughter who also loves Radames) thinks she is
the rightful betrothed of the great hero, only to discover that she's been usurped by her slave. How many people have been in situations where they have found the person they love is in love with someone else? Worse yet, a bitter rival."
   Also Radames' own conflict between private duty, his feelings for the woman he loves, and public obligation, the fact that he's a great warrior for his country.
He winds up - almost unwittingly because he is so blinded by love - betraying his country. How many politicians have been brought down by that very same scenario?"
   "Aida" is one of the great spectacles in opera, with scenes set in the temple of Phtah, the triumphal way in Memphis, on the banks of the Nile River and finally a sealed tomb, in which Radames and Aida sing their dying farewells.
   "There is a 'wow' factor to this production," said Mirageas. "It is really an
ancient Tutankhamen tomb painting come to life. It focuses on all of the great visual symbology of pharaonic Egypt, with tremendous amounts of gold and black and enormous platforms.
   "In the triumphal scene, the choruses are raked, looking like almost to the top of the curtain line. It acts almost as a recording horn, because the sets are tall and placed downstage considerably, thereby allowing the sound to project out in the auditorium with tremendous force. It is designed to both dazzle your eye and really make you believe you are hearing the biggest chorus ever assembled onstage. It has the potential of altering your hairdo when they sing forte."
   The enormous set, which weighs 55,000 pounds and will take four days to
load into Music Hall, was designed by Allen Charles Klein for the Florida Grand Opera production which opened Miami's new Carnival Center for the Arts in October 2006.
   "Aida" is "an opera we all sort of know, even if we've never been to the opera," said Mirageas. Though it hasn't been used on "The Simpsons" yet (he Googled quickly to make sure), "the triumphal march has been in movies and
background for commercials and on television." (The Elton John/Tim Rice Broadway version has made more people familiar with the story, but its music is unrelated.)
   Broadening its appeal, "Aida" is a natural vehicle for African-American singers. "Cincinnati Opera has a real commitment to diverse casting. But, of course, 'Aida' gives us a composer-mandated opportunity to cast two of the starring roles with African-Americans." Singing Aida will be soprano Lisa Daltirus,
with baritone Gordon Hawkins as Aida's father, Amonasro, king of Ethiopia.
   Singing opposite Daltirus will be tenor Richard Margison as Radames, Russian mezzo-soprano Irina Mishura asAmneris, Turkish bass Burak Bilgili as the high priest Ramfis, bass Gustav Andreassen as the Egyptian king, soprano Carol Dusdieker as the high priestess and tenor Jeremy Cady as the messenger. (Daltirus, Hawkins and Margison sang with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati
Symphony on its impressive "Salute to Cincinnati Opera" Sunday at Riverbend.)
   Because of its 50-year residence at the Cincinnati Zoo, the opera has had a special link with "Aida." Zoo animals, including elephants, cheetahs and even snakes, have been part of the triumphal scene over the years. No more, said Beggs.
   "The rules have changed. For the zoos across the country, there is a category called the big animal category, and they have very stringent restrictions regarding taking these animals out of their zoo habitat. It's for the protection of the animals and also for people, because there is potential for harm even in the most well-trained and docile animals. Once large animals unleash that force, a human being is just no match, even one they love, so it is for the safety of both patrons and the animals."
   However, "not to be daunted," said Mirageas, "you will see in the triumphal scene one of the most impressive eagles ever put on the stage" ("Erik," a steller's sea eagle, can be seen in the opera's "Aida" promotional video at www.cincinnatiopera.org). A pair of servals will be on display in the lobby before performances.
   Putting on "Aida" is an opportunity to cultivate a new audience. "We know it is an opera that will attract a large first-time opera crowd," said Mirageas. "There are people who might not think about buying a subscription but might buy a single ticket. If they come for the first time to see something like 'Aida,' it often leads to becoming a subscriber.
   "Putting on multiple performances is an investment in our future because people who normally wouldn't come on a Thursday or a Saturday might come to a Sunday matinee and be so wowed by what they see they say, 'I want to come back and see more of this next year.'"
(first published in The Cincinnati Post July 19, 2007)