Aida

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, October 25th, 2002

Libretto by: Antonio Ghislanzoni
Based on the story by: Auguste Mariette
In Italian with English Surtitles

Conductor: Joseph Rescigno
Director: Brian Deedrick

CAST

Aïda, an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt: Susan Neves
Amneris, Egyptian Princess: Jean Stilwell
High Priestess: Marie-Josée Lord
Radames, Egyptian army captain: Renzo Zulian
Messenger: Neil Wright
Amonasro Ethiopian King and father of Aïda: Mark Rucker
Ramfis , High Priest of Isis: Dean Elzinga
King of Egypt: Taras Kulish
With the Vancouver Opera Chorus as priests, priestesses, dancers, slaves, guards and soldiers, Egyptian populace and Ethiopian prisoners of war.

Chorus Director: Leslie Uyeda
Set Designer: Wolfram Salicki
Lighting Designer: Stephen Ross
Costume Designer: Susan Memmott
Wig Designer: Stacey Butterworth
Musical Preparation: Leslie Dala, Donna Falconer, Karen Shumka
Stage Manager: Sheila Munn
Choreographer: Jean Leger
Assistant Director: Ann Hodges
English Sur-Title Translations: Stuart Tarbuck

Review prepared by: Mirela Djokic

Grand opera is as much about spectacle as gorgeous arias. Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, for example, has been staged with a live elephant on stage. But that was back in 1871, in Cairo, Egypt, where the opera was first produced. You will not find an elephant at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, where the doomed love story of the Nubian princess “Aida” and the Egyptian captain “Radames” slowly unveils. Sheila Munn, with a strong assist from set designer Wolfram Salicki and lighting designer Stephen Ross, has provided enough stunning scenic effects and costumes to make Aida look great, even without the elephant – they use a horse instead.

This is the ancient story of the Nubian princess captured by an Egyptian captain who comes to recognize in her all the noble qualities he wishes he had. Their love is doomed by “Aida's” growing bond with the captain's intended bride, the Pharaoh's daughter, and her duty to her father, the Nubian king, and her people.

Renzo Zulian as “Ramades”, the object of both princesses' affection, is handsomely decked out in princely outfits that run the color spectrum from beige to blue, white and black with plenty of occasions to bare his torso. He sings well, but this is very much a show that belongs to Aida and Jean Stillwell, who plays “Ramades'” future bride “Amneris”.

The three leads in this production, Neves, Stillwell and Zulian are what make it work so well. Particularly Susan Neves as “Aida”, who has a divine voice. Simply put, she was breathtaking. She has a sweet but weighty soprano, unlike a lot of sopranos who sound either brassy or flimsy. At one point, when she sings to her father about her love to “Radames”, my eyes welled with tears. Stillwell as “Amneris” was also very good, with a beautiful voice, and she could act up a storm.

From the opening "Every Story Is A Love Story," "Fortune Favors The Brave, " and "The Past Is Another Land," the audience is overwhelmed by the powerful emotion of this story. It quickly has you identifying with the characters and despite their impossible and interwoven relationships, you want them all to get what they want in the end. They do...in a way...although in the case of “Radames” and Aida - as “Radames” says, "we'll be together even if it takes a hundred lifetimes."