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The Chisinau
National Opera
The
Orchestra of the Chisinau National
Opera, Moldova
Conductor
Gheorghe
Stanciu
Producer
Ellen Kent
Artistic
Director
Yuri Grigorovich
Aida
Galina Bernaz
Amneris
Nadejda Stoinova
Radames
Patrizio Hu
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The Richmond Theatre
30
April - 5 May 2007 |
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Following
Aida's
premier in Cairo in December
1871, Verdi wrote, "This
opera is one of my less bad."
It was probably his most popular,
earning him - in addition
to the $20,000 (a fortune
at the time) that the Khedive
Ismail Pasha of Egypt paid
him for the commission - more
than any of his other compositions.
This "less bad"
is playing at The Richmond
Theatre in one of its "less
bad" productions. (When
this opera is done badly,
it can be terrible - leaving
no doubt why a musical theorist
as astute as Edward Said hated
Verdi.) The Chisinau National
Opera company fills the small
space at the theatre, the
cast singing amid beautiful
Egyptian columns and stone
temples as good as any at
the Royal Opera House. But
the costumes and stage direction
seem unworthy of the strong
orchestra (who played well,
despite the fact that Romanian
Maestro Gheorghe Stanciu took
the baton at short notice)
and some magnificent singing.
Why all the male messengers
and spear carriers were made
to wear bum freezing mini-togas
and grey jockeys was as much
a puzzle as a royal crown
on the slave Aida. No matter.
The Chisinau cast gave their
all for an operatic evening
that delighted its audience
and made its many flaws seem
minor.
This traditional production
varies little from the staging
that Verdi himself set for
it. Verdi's interest in Aida
went into all areas of the
production. He interfered
with the writing of every
line of the libretto and went
to Paris to commission the
costumes and sets - whose
delivery to Cairo was delayed
by the German occupation of
Paris in 1870. The themes
of love, betrayal, revenge
and condemnation of a priestly
caste - resonating strongly
for Verdi in that year when
the Kingdom of Italy finally
conquered Rome and abolished
the Papal states - come to
life in this version thanks
to the two female leads, soprano
Galina Bernaz as Aida and
mezzo Nadejda Stoianova as
her rival Amneris. Bernaz's
rendition of Numi pietư evokes
compassion from the first
act, and she sustains the
quality to the end. In some
arias, when her anguish is
greatest, the director glues
her to the centre of the stage
and won't let her body show
what she is enduring - although
her voice compensates for
the lack of meaningful action.
Patrizio Hu as Radames lacks
the weight to convince us
that either Aida or Amneris
would abandon their honour
and their countries for him.
Although it was not his fault
that one violin managed to
drown Celeste Aida as he reached
the aria's climax, he did
not achieve many dramatic
highs during all his time
on stage. Lacking presence
and hampered by a cape that
made him look like a comic
book superhero about to fly
away, he was no match in stature
or voice for Aida's father,
sung by the giant baritone
Boris Materinco. Materinco
dominated his scenes with
vigorous motion and subtle
song, although he was badly
let down by make-up artists
who costumed him with a fright
wig that made him look unfortunately
like Gary Glitter.
Charles
Glass |
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