Shunting
aside for the moment the rather crucial question of whether
last night's grand and stupendous production of Aida at
Olympic Stadium could properly be identified with the genre
we call opera, one can safely say that the Big O
Aida delivered all the entertainment value it promised.
It also surprised those in the audience who expected the
score of Verdi's great opera to bounce aimlessly around
the bleachers while camels, firepots and body-suited ballerinas
vied for the crowd's attention.
Trouble spots
To be sure, an echo remained, and proved more than a little
distressing during the dramatic trio when Radames (tenor
Nicola Martinucci), Amneris (mezzo Ruza Pospis-Baldani)
and Aida (soprano Katia Ricciarelli) begin to get an idea
of who fancies whom.
And there were clearly a few trouble spots on the spot-miked
stage that soloists entered at their peril.
But from the beginning of the second scene, the sound
clarified enough not to get in the way of a worry-free
appreciation of the performance.
And surprisingly, singers, musicians and even extras remained
in satisfyingly tense accord with the crisp beat of conductor
Giusseppe Raffa.
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However, "good sound" is
not likely to be the remark on the lips of the thousands
of apparently satisfied patrons who crammed the stadium to
the rafters.
This Aida was a resplendent spectacle that relished the
celebrated Triumphal March of Act 2 with gloriously hedonistic
excess.
There were cavils worth expressing - concerning, for example,
the circus-act treatment of the five elephants that merely
detracted from the thrilling grandeur of the scene.
But director Mauro Bolognini can also take credit for
some unexpected master-strockes.
Rarely has the entry of the Ethiopian prisoners evoked
as much pathos. Almost everywhere the choreography was
superb.
Real poignancy
The big-name cast did not disappoint. After a somewhat
reserved start, Ricciarelli blossomed into a character
of real poignancy.
Yet another surprise for the sceptics was the extent to
which the intimate soliloquies seemed intimate, the personal
dialogues genuinely personal.
In short, worth the high ticket prices, regardless of
the extent to which it does or does not resemble opera
as we know it.
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