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Verdi: Aida -- Royal Opera House [DVD]

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In a wonderful night for male voices, Korean bass In Sung Sim is a 21st-century pharaoh, an idolised figurehead, served by a vast army, meticulously drilled. French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Amonasro leads his vanquished people with rage and passion. But it is American bass Soloman Howard as Ramfis -– originally a high priest, here a General – who, in a Covent Garden debut to remember, drew the loudest cheers from a delighted first night audience. It is 20 years since Sir Antonio Pappano was first named music director of the Royal Opera House, then the youngest person to have held this post. Two decades later, audiences know that in the Italian repertoire in particular the orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera are in hands not only expert but thoughtful, passionate and kind. Carsen sweeps it all aside in this stark, contemporary vision of the piece, which despite its slightly wearying design arrives smartly at the dramatic nexus of Verdi’s grand operas: love and politics failing to add up, and a sense of horror about what people in love with war will do to each other. His production replaces that of David McVicar, which was notable for its gory procession in Act two, putting in its place something more abstract and chilling. Actors Jamie Francis, Gregor Copeland, Rain De Rye Barrett, Chris Edgerley, David Galea, Jonathon Hands, Kyle Harrison-Pope, Jamal Lowe, Eduardo Nunez, Suleiman Suleiman

The performance was dominated by two artists: the Amneris of Elīna Garanča and the conducting of Sir Mark Elder. Elder found such detail in the score – the orchestra played at its very best for him throughout, the opening of the first act beautifully, keenly phrased, the great musical arches of the big choral scenas perfectly traced. Elder is a man of the theatre, and how it showed. As for Elīna Garanča, she dominated the stage throughout, effortlessly, her voice strong, resolute and rich from her first entrance. Worth mentioning, as the Aida on this occasion, Angel Blue, took a little while to warm into the role of the captured Ethiopian princess (also in contrast to Elena Stikhina last time round). Once she had centred herself, though, Blue’s vocal strength was all there (a fine ‘O patria mia’) – a pity she did not show an equal dramatic presence to that of Garanča.

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Director Robert Carsen has envisioned a combination of America, China and Russia as the key influences for the new Aida aesthetic. However, no one superpower is represented, and it speaks to the timeless theme of power and war-time conflict instead. The set’s (Miriam Buether) colour scheme is stark; lifeless grey dominates the palette, interjected by splashes of red carpet or flag. Even the costumes (Annemarie Woods) reflect this, ranging from khaki to ashen, with the King of Egypt and his daughter getting to wear a rare blue and red while celebrating victory. The lighting (Robert Carsen and Peter van Praet) also adds seamlessly to the oppressive atmosphere, casting massive shadows outlining uniformed men onto the blank canvas of the walls. Having the director this closely involved with the lighting decisions paid off hugely; all of the chorus-heavy scenes feature at least one tableaux imprinted ten times larger in silhouette onto the bunker walls, looming over us like the dark fates of Radames and Aida. Ramfis ( Solomon Howard) who is ordinarily a High Priest, here appears as an intimidating senior military attaché whilst the rest of the junta wouldn’t have appeared out-of-place in Mubarak’s Egypt. When he presents the General with the icon which will lead Egypt to victory in battle, here it manifests as a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Tightly choreographed set pieces involve the enormous chorus and dancers who have been drilled into a marching/fighting machine equal to any found on an equivalent parade ground or battlefield. Aside from the assault rifle distribution scene, the 2 other notable unsung orchestral interludes give rise to an inspection of the guard by the king and the laying of the victory banquet table. Both are inspired choices and add considerably to the audience’s enjoyment — if only due to the excited nervousness which comes from anticipating whether every chorus member will have managed to reach his/her designated place by the last note. Golden-toned: Francesco Meli as Radames, with Elena Stikhina as Aida. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian Elīna Garanča delivered a show-stealing Amneris, returning to Covent Garden after her thrilling vocal partnership with SeokJong Baek in Richard Jones’ uneven “Samson et Dalila” last season. Her Act four melt-down was electrifying; her top notes are as bronzed as ever – a fine complement to Angel Blue’s more steely sound. Her middle and lower register, especially in the Act two duet with Aida, had a kind of wounded gravitas; it is a rounded and hugely involving portrayal.

Updated! English National Ballet in 2023/24: introducing Maria Seletskaja their new music director (07/11/2023) Photography and filming are prohibited during performances in any of our auditoriums. You are welcome to take pictures throughout the rest of the building and before performances and share them with us through social media. Commercial photography and filming must be agreed in advance with our press team. In this, his penultimate annual season at Covent Garden before moving to the London Symphony Orchestra, it is tempting to reach out and beg him to stay. Drawing stirring ensemble playing and intimate solos from the orchestra, he is also superbly served by the strong and immaculate chorus, always on parade or on manoeuvres and rejoicing in violence, even as interpreted in dance by choreographer Rebecca Howell.Elder statesman steps in to conduct a majestic Mahler’s Third with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall (27/11/2023) Mark Elder, conducting, seems to have Verdi pumping through his veins. This was his night. He steered the epic moments as well as the subtle, spare scoring of the intimate passages, every moment steeped in maximum drama. Aida devotees will rail against the production – not generally liked much when it was new – and the liberties taken with the plot (I don’t remember Verdi specifying a table-laying scene). But Carsen’s interpretation gives the characters definition and clarity. As one who has always struggled with this work, I found it illuminating.

Egypt is at war with Ethiopia. Aida, daughter of the Ethiopian King Amonasro, has been captured and made prisoner. She now serves Amneris, the Egyptian King’s daughter, but Aida has concealed her true identity. Carsen’s wish to show the destruction of the individual by the apparatus of the state is powerfully fulfilled by the three principals. Francesco Meli is an upright, proud Radamès, very much a man of patriotism and integrity, but convincingly humbled by love. His tenor reached strongly to the top, but sometimes without nuance, though he paced his performance effectively. As Aida, Elena Stikhina gave an astonishingly insightful portrait of emotional suffering and inner conflict. This was not a showy performance, and at first I wondered if her soprano would rise above the resounding orchestral forces, but she saved her vocal intensity for the latter stages of the opera where it made a tremendously affecting impression. Rarely has torment and anguish sounded so sweet. Agnieszka Rehlis’s Amneris transformed persuasively from a spoilt, contemptuous schemer to a woman rent apart by despair when her pleading with the priests fails to save Radamès from his fate. The Belfast Ensemble conducted by Tom Deering in rehearsal at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Photograph: Neil Harrison But the whole was so much more than the sum of its parts thanks to Elder’s sure direction, delivering real, spine-tingling grandeur in the choral scenes while balancing chorus and orchestra impeccably. Breathing forests and village weddings energize the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen (22/11/2023)The safety of our visitors, staff and artists is still our priority. There are hand sanitiser stations throughout the building. To help us provide a comfortable experience for everyone, please be mindful of others and their personal space. Cross-cultural impulses inspire the opening concert of Hong Kong Musicus Society’s 2023 festival (28/11/2023) Plenty of opportunities for the Chorus of the Royal Opera House to shine in this grand spectacle, which they did (notwithstanding a temporary disagreement with Elder about tempo in Act two, which will presumably iron itself out). Nothing is more exciting than quiet singing – the Act one scene in the temple saw superlative, feather-soft singing from the men of the chorus, the sound veiled and blooming. It was an unearthly moment of beauty that hinted at some residual humanity hidden behind the bellicose world of the opera. If colour was absent from the stage, then there was plenty of it in the pit where Antonio Pappano mined all the subtleties of the score, from the most delicate string sound to the heights of orchestral opulence. Time and again, the sensitivity of his reading brought balance, and human warmth, to the grim austerity of the design and the tragic tone of the drama. To take just one moment, Aida’s wrenching mourning after she has been condemned by her father: here, the soft darkness of the lower strings and bassoon wonderfully underscored Aida’s desolation and the pathos of her lament. Mark Elder brought a masterful sound out of the house orchestra, using Verdi’s innovative orchestration to create a fresh soundworld for every scene. Tension and terror alongside triumph and tender love were all convincingly carried by the orchestra, heightening the drama. Vedi’s fiendish and exposed woodwind moments sounded gorgeous, as were Concertmaster Sergey Levitin’s solos. ROH’s Aida is a fresh take on the score’s perennial themes of love, power and war and is well worth a visit.

The cast sees several figures return from the first time round, and some Covent Garden favorites return. Ludovic Tézier and Soloman Howard reprise Amonasro and Ramfis respectively. The latter was granite-like voice as a cold, unsentimental fanatic in a chilling characterization; his attachment to duty is quite different to Radamès, who is a romantic heart – Howard’s Ramfis was all dead-eyed resolve and sense of destiny. His accusatory cries of “Radamès” in the trial sequence were cavernous.

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Finding myself with an hour to kill before a performance of Robert Carsen’s new production of Aida at the Royal Opera House earlier this week, I settled down in a small bar in Covent Garden with a glass of wine and a copy of If Not Critical ­– an edition of ten lectures by Eric Griffiths which were originally delivered at the Faculty of English at Cambridge University. ‘A rehearsal of Hamlet’ begins with reflections on the various small changes to the title of Shakespeare’s play – ‘Revenge’, ‘Tragedie’ and ‘True Chronicle Historie’ appeared in turn in early printings – leading Griffiths to reflect on the play’s genre and more generally on the critical opinion in Shakespeare’s time about the boundary between history and poetry. Drawing on Aristotle’s Poetics, he suggests, ‘History tells us what in fact happened, poetry lays out the pattern according to which we could have seen the events coming’. Ferocity and heartbreak’: Elīna Garanča, right, as Amneris, with Angel Blue in the title role, in the Royal Opera’s Aida. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian CALLAS – PARIS, 1958 in cinemas soon should not be missed by opera lovers of whatever vintage (06/11/2023) In closing it is worth mentioning newcomer Andrés Presno whose brief appearance as the Messenger presaged a great future. Who knows, he may be delivering his own Radamés in the not-too-distant future.

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