Verdi - Aida
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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.
Movie Review: A WALK OUT ON THE WILD SIDE
Summary: 3 Stars
If you're going to buy this AIDA because this is the production Roberto Alagna walked out on, you're going to be confused. The only thing I can figure is they taped a couple of the performances, including a dress rehearsal and then spliced all the good parts together to make the DVD. Alagna's singing of "Celeste Aida" is awful but you don't hear any booing from the audience unless it was edited out. He excels in the last two acts and the audience lets him know it. There is very little love shown between him and Aida. Alagna seems to be concentrating on the music and seldom takes his eyes off the conductor. Generally the singing is quite good from all the principals but Aida is plump and Amneris is svelte and regal. It's kind of hard to believe Radames chooses Aida. The sets and costumes by Franco Zefirelli are spectacular but ruined by TV director Patrizia Carmine who tries to turn this into a music video using lots of superimposed images, blurry fade outs and bellowing sheets in various colors blocking too many key scenes. The consumer should be warned this is a cinematic version of this opera which doesn't succeed. Verdi's music doesn't need any help. Holding all the pieces together is Riccardo Chailly the conductor whom the audience clearly worships. Franco Ziffrelli comes out at the end and it was sad to see he had to be helped walking on the stage. Say what you will about his grand productions, they are never boring. I already have four AIDA'S on DVD and welcome this latest effort.Movie Review: Extremely Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I was looking for a modern replacement of my old Met Opera DVD of Aida and, as someone who likes the spectacle of Grand Opera, decided to buy this Franco Zeffirelli directed version from La Scala. I noted that a number of the reviewers had mentioned the superimposed images and fade-ins and fade-outs employed by the director and how much it had annoyed them. However, I thought they were probably being too subjective and I couldn't imagine that a video director would have been given so much of a free hand that it could detract from Zeffirelli's production. How wrong I was! In the triumphal march in Act 2 the stage is full of people, the costumes are opulent, the props are magnificent, the orchestra under Chailly is building up to a climax and yet Patrizia Carmine thinks that she can improve on all of this by adding dissolves through drapes and superimposing close-ups of trumpets; not just once, but again and again.
There is so much to like about this production and I no doubt will watch it occasionally, but it could have been so much better without the interference of the video director. I would go so far as to suggest that all might not be lost and the DVD could possibly be re-released without all the offensive and unnecessary additions. How novel that might be, a non-directors cut of the opera.
Movie Review: Decent Aida
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a decent Aida. Alagna sings Radames better than I thought he would. I thought his voice would be too light for the role. Urmana is also better than I expected, because previously I thought she was squally when I saw her sing the La Forza Leonora and the HD Aida from the Met recently. So she was in much better form than I have seen her in.
I normally like Zeffirelli's set designs, but what is this obsession with golden rods strung horizontally throughout this production? What are they supposed to signify?
I agree with other reviewers about this video though. The video/tv director spends way too much time focusing on pieces of fabric and details of the sets while the singers are singing. It starts out being a very small annoyance, but by the Tomb Scene you are so sick of seeing a piece of fabric while the singers are singing and then it suddenly gets ten times worse during this Tomb Scene. It is like the video director did not want you to even see the Tomb Scene at all. It is incredibly annoying! Whoever made the decision to continually cut to fabric and inanimate objects throughout the video is an idiot. The Tomb Scene is one of the most beautiful moments in all of opera and it was spoiled.
Movie Review: illusions of grandeur
Summary: 3 Stars
If it were not for the Triumphal Scene, this production could be forgotten. It was poorly filmed. You were distracted when scenes changed by flimsy material blowing in front of the cameras. The processional was truly fantastic, well orchestrated, and grand opera at its ultimate. Who said you need animals for this scene?
All in all, the music is always grand, the set was very good, but the direction and filming leave a lot to be desired. I am surprised the La Scala audience was not letting their usual vocal reactions be heard! Perhaps it was edited!