Step back into the mysterious and exotic time of the Ancient Egyptians, at the height of their reign, when Pharaohs commanded full authority over the vast expanse of Egypt, inheriting considerable power, riches, and enemies. It is the royal palace at Memphis, Egypt, in the great classic, Aida, created by the Giuseppe Verdi, which waits.
Aida is a greatly renowned opera that has achieved an iconic status. Dressed in magnificent and luxurious costumes, the finest details and lavish accessories of the Ancient Egyptians are grandly displayed on every single actor and actress, as they magically tell the woeful tale of star-crossed lovers. Threatening warfare from the neighboring country of Ethiopia calls the warrior Radames to arms. In a moment of solitude, he sings of his great wish to command the defense army, and his passionate love for Aida, the Ethiopian slave of Princess Amneris, the pharaoh’s daughter. He plans to win the war so that his glory and success enables him to free Aida and marry her. Aida, the Ethiopian princess, is depicted in red rags, savagely torn and threadbare. Her wonderfully overwhelming and powerful voice shakes the rafters of the Jubilee Auditorium as she sings miserly and confused of her patriotic loyalty to Ethiopia and her love for Radames. However, Amneris is deeply in love with Radames and becomes bitterly jealous when she senses his feelings for Aida.
Amneris, dressed in a gorgeous gown of silk blue and glorious finery, is determined to discover for herself if Aida loves Radames, and cunningly deceives the innocent Aida into doing so. In their moment alone, Amneris commands an air of authority, but exerts a subtle menace as she exploits the poor Aida. Radames returns in triumph into an awe-inspiring and grand palace filled with priests dressed in ornate gold headpieces and uniformed robes at the bottom of an enormous staircase, where they awaited the commands of their king. Flanked by bare-chested guards in softly woven tunics, their serious demeanour was coupled well with their spiked spears. A grand ceremony is in order for the celebration of Radames’ victory and the king graciously give Radames, as his reward, Amneris’ hand in marriage. As sporadic and exotic dancers lead the celebrations, a handful of captured Ethiopian, mangled in chains and similar dark rust red rages Aida dresses in, emerges onto the stage, their fate at the hands of the priests and the pharaoh.
As the opera progresses, sinister forces are to desperate to keep Aida and Radames apart, and soon the two kingdoms of Ethiopia and Egypt become entwined in a fate that tragically unfolds in dramatic and sudden events.
Most memorably, one of my favourite scenes was that of the warfare that occurred between the Ethiopians and the Egyptians, the Egyptians splendidly clad in bright armour contrasted to the savagely and primitively depicted Ethiopians. This whole scene was showcased by the fabulous Alberta Ballet, their flexible and fluid movements control the anarchic movements of warfare, and quite spectacularly, twists and turns their bodies into memorizing and powerful battle.
Aida’s mysticism, exoticism, with the familiar relics and mysteries of Egypt, becomes cast larger than life by the epic scale of Adia’s enormous and pomp ceremonies, the fantastic lighting that elevate the mood and stature of the characters on stage, the tremendous choir, the grand Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and of course, the huge backdrops.
The magnificent backdrops are a sight to behold, as the opera starts with image of popular images engrave on tombstone walls is recreated to fill the whole stage on wooden backdrop. The Sphinx’s head, it giant’s complexion is carved to perfection in a grand block of sandstone. Statues of massive composure rule the stage, reminding the tiny performers of the awesome culture the Ancient civilization held.
Overall, the opera was a dazzling performance, only naturally sung in the romantic language of Italian, the lavish costumes that reflected the richness of the Ancient Egyptians, and the fantastic and awe-inspiring backdrops of enormous size makes for a truly epic opera. Thanks to Calgary Opera for providing seats to this grand opera!
