SEATTLE — Strip out the pomp and pageantry, the sheer scale and spectacle of “Aida” and what have you got?
A masterpiece.
“Aida,” Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of doomed lovers set in exotic ancient Egypt at the time of the pharaohs, pulses with love, jealousy, revenge and desire, played out against a backdrop of war and political intrigue. His glorious score gets to the very heart of that story and its characters. The music is what makes this opera great.
“Aida,” which calls for big sets, elaborate costumes, full orchestra and chorus, taxes the production resources of most opera companies. And then you’ve got to round up really good singers.
Seattle Opera scores on all counts with a sumptuous production and an A-list cast of principals who provided a long evening of bravura singing at last weekend’s season-opener. “Aida” continues through Aug. 23 at McCaw Hall.
The heavy lifting falls on three principal singers: Antonello Palombi, Lisa Daltirus and Stephanie Blythe (the second cast sings tonight, Sunday, Aug. 15 and 22).
Palombi, as the Egyptian warrior Radames, set the tone with “Celesta Aida” (heavenly Aida), an achingly beautiful first-act aria. The Italian tenor has a rich, burnished sound, with great control and vocal dynamics. He can shoot a phrase over the orchestra straight to the back of the house, and then modulate and caress the next.
Soprano Lisa Daltirus (last season’s great Tosca) was a sensation as the Ethiopian princess who is enslaved by the Egyptians and who loves Radames. Daltirus has a big, secure range with many shadings in her vocal palate, floating high notes with ease and reaching down for earthy ones. She made a dramatically compelling Aida.
Amneris is the Egyptian princess who also loves Radames. When he turns her down, Amnersis sends him to his death, then lives to regret it. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe sang the role in the opening-night cast. Her warm, voluptuous voice rang like a clarion call from heaven, and although she does the least physically in the opera, she made the biggest dramatic impressions with her voice. It’s easy to see why she’s in great demand and a rising star at The Met in New York.
The rest of the cast was solid: Charles Taylor as Amonsaro, Luiz-Ottavio Faria as Ramfis, Priti Gandhi as the High Priestess, Joseph Rawley as the King of Egypt and Karl Marx Reyes as the Messenger. The Seattle Opera chorus was in top form and Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza made a big impression in his Seattle Opera debut,
This new-to-Seattle production, the first “Aida” here since 1992, has a traditional look. Michael Yeargan’s elegant sets — the moonlit Nile River, a King’s palace — are decorated with hieroglyphics and deployed with ease. Peter J. Hall’s ornate costumes feature the elaborate headdresses and flowing robes of imperial Egypt.
Director Robin Guarino offered a cleanly staged “Aida” as she moved large masses of singers and extras about the stage. The second-act “Triumphal March” is a musical and visual highlight of the opera.
The Egyptian soldiers return victorious from battle amid the blare of trumpets, strategically located on either side of the opera house to neat effect. But the extended dance scene here, choreographed by Seattle’s Donald Byrd, is a distraction.
Lamentably, Seattle audiences frequently start heading for the exits before the final curtain hits the stage. Last weekend, everyone stayed put, greeting the cast with waves of ovations before heading out into the warmth of an August evening humming “Glory to Egypt.”
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