Verdi - Aida
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chailly, Giorgio Giuseppini, Ildiko Komlosi, Roberto Alagna, Violeta UrmanaDVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Italian (Original Language), DTS 5.1; German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled)
Format: Classical, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 158 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca
Movie Reviews of Verdi - Aida
Movie Review: La Scala production is marred by uneven performances and frustrating video direction
Summary: 3 Stars
This La Scala production was promoted as the "new" version of the great 1989 Emmy-winning "Aida" from The Met. The La Scala production has much to recommend it: fine singing from Violeta Urmana as Aida and Ildiko Komlosi as Amneris; beautiful performances by the two featured dancers in the ballet (Verdi wrote great ballet music here); lively and nuanced conducting by Ricardo Chailly; and the full-bodied, spirited sound of the La Scala chorus. These are the five-star features of the production.
But I've just spent (too much) time watching the Beijing Olympics and so, with gymnastics and diving judges as my new role models, it's time to start taking deductions. Roberto Alagna never looks comfortable as Radames. At first, I thought he was just physically uncomfortable in his armor-laden costume. But, in the end, he's really a lyric tenor and this role shouldn't be in his repertoire. The only time he truly shines is in the Tomb Scene where his lyricism can soar; that's a long time for the viewer to wait for a performer to show his stuff! This must have been filmed on opening night because it was during the second performance that Alagna walked off stage minutes into the opera, after being booed at the end of "Celeste Aida" (which he sings poorly here too - hitting several sour notes). His untimely exit is well-documented on You-Tube wherein Ildiko Komlosi, in her regal Egyptian costume, walks onto an empty stage, looks confused but is soon joined by a guy in jeans and a leather jacket (Alagna's understudy) who walks out and immediately starts singing to her.
"Aida" is Grand Opera but only works if the spectacle shares equal billing with the intimate, tragic tale it tells of forbidden love. This production falls short here too because, as good as the singing of the two principal women is, their acting is too wooden. With the exception of Urmana's moving rendition of "O patria mia," none of the leads ever become flesh and blood characters to me.
The stage does indeed have the look of a spectacle. It is filled with ancient Egyptian looking statues and decorations, but I thought they looked cheap, not elegant. If you want to see beautiful sets in an "Aida" production, get the DVD of the 2003 Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona production that features trompe-d'oeil sets painted on paper by Josep Mestres Cabanes for a production of "Aida" in 1945. Almost 60 years later, the sets were restored for the production. Seeing these paintings as sets is like being at a Catalonian art exhibit.
Finally, as other reviewers have pointed out, the filming in this La Scala production is poorly conceived. I don't mind if the video director takes creative liberties and doesn't just point the camera at the stage. But here, Patrizia Carmine gets creative at all the wrong times. So, right in the middle of an aria, suddenly the face of the singer may be completely obscured by out-of-focus flowing cloth. Or, even worse, in the middle of a duet or a trio when you need to see the players interacting with each other, statues or other stage decorations may suddenly be superimposed right over their faces. It's extremely irritating not to be able to see the players at these crucial moments in the drama.
Bottom line, I would recommend this "Aida" only for collectors or if the "five-star" elements I listed in the first paragraph appeal to you more than the "deductions" I've taken in the rest of the review.
Summary of Verdi - Aida
This DVD features the high-profile new production from La Scala in Milan, filmed before Roberto Alagna's sensational departure! This is the operatic event of 2006, following Roberto Alagna's exit from the production during the second performance. Spectacular new production by veteran director/designer Franco Zeffirelli has all the luxury, theatricality and opulence one could wish for in this grandest of operas, keeping in tradition and shying away from the minimalist modern intrepretation. French tenor Roberto Alagna was filmed in early performances before his high-profile departure from the production. This alone makes it a must-have DVD for all opera fans! Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana takes on the title role, and the powerful Hungarian mezzo Ildiko Komlosi stars as her rival, Princess Amneris. Riccardo Chailly conducts this stellar cast at La Scala--The Home of Opera.This December 2006 Aida from La Scala offers some fine singing but as often happens in a Franco Zeffirelli staging, the scenery and directing vie with its purely musical aspects. Little wonder, given the sumptuous sets, spectacular crowd scenes, and the masses of scenic and acting details more common to a movie than a stage performance. Zeffirelli populates the La Scala stage with enough statuary to fill the Egyptian wing of a large museum. Huge busts of Pharaonic figures loom above the singers, a wall covering the back of the stage is full of detailed relief figures drawn from ancient Egyptian relics, and when singers, dancers, chorus, and extras populate the stage during the Triumphal March, it seems like all of Thebes turned out for the celebration. The Nile scene is relatively pared down while neatly suggesting the mystery of the scene and focusing attention on the dramatic confrontations of the principal actors. By the time we arrive at the final tomb scene, the dying hero and heroine are seen through the darkness while above them, the priests and priestesses of the Pharoah's court invoke their deity. But while the detailed stage direction and sets are important, any Aida requires four world-class singers to make its maximum impact. La Scala, as befits a season-opening performance, fields a worthy crew. Top honors go to the eponymous heroine, for Violeta Urmana demonstrates a soprano voice impressive in its evenness, her ease at the top of her range and her rich bottom notes. She won't make you forget her famed predecessors in the role, but she's definitely worth hearing. The same might be said of Roberto Alagna, the Radames. He left the production after the performances filmed here because of audience booing, but aside from a strained Celeste Aida his singing here is quite good, with sensitive phrasing and some lovely soft singing in the Tomb Scene.
The Amneris, Ildiko Komlosi, dominates the stage in her scenes as the imperious Pharaoh's daughter. Like her rival for Radames' affections, Aida, she won't erase memories of other fine Amneris' but she's a definite plus in this production. Less so is Carlo Guelphi, the Amonastro, rough of voice and generalized in his singing and acting. Smaller parts are capably done and the La Scala Orchestra is alertly led by Ricardo Chailly. He paces the opera with vigor, exposes details of the score often overlooked, and draws some ravishing playing from the strings.The ballet sequences are done with a Hollywoodish touch that fits the production, but the video direction of Patrizia Carmine will draw some boos from home viewers. There are frequent fades to swirling, out-of-focus details of stage d?cor, veils and materials, accelerating in later scenes to become annoying distractions, especially since they often occur in mid-aria, sabotaging the musical flow and diverting attention from the singers. Still, this is a worthy production of a great opera.--Dan Davis
Aida is an all-regions 2-disc set in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Subtitles include English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
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