Aida, San Francisco Opera, Sept. 16 2010

San Francisco Opera either sold or discarded their prior Aida production, so they needed to create a new one. In a world of extravagant Aida productions, this one is far more modest, perhaps reflecting the budget-conscious times. The primary visual element was the side curtains that could be drawn across the stage, from either side. The edges were 30° from vertical, so that when left and right curtains were both drawn toward the center, the gap between them formed roughly a teepee shape. Said curtains were some variant of blue-green in color, and decorated with scribbles vaguely reminiscent of hieroglyphs. Beyond that there were painted drops, and occasionally some steps. Act 1 scene 2 featured a pyramid of steps, with a very lifelike statue on top. For Act 2 scene 2, the triumphal procession, there were some steps for the trumpeters to stand on, and elaborately decorated chairs for Amneris and her father the King of Egypt to sit in (at the front of the stage, blocking my view of much of the dancing), and lots of people. No elephants, but they mocked up an elephant: Radames entered standing on a platform carried by several men, while other men carried a fabric-covered structure representing the head of the elephant, complete with a trunk that a puppeteer waved back and forth. Other men carried two gigantic tusks, while still others carried "flags" in the shape of the elephant's ears. The entire elephant, save the tusks, was a light blue-green. For the final scene in which Radames and Aida suffocate in the vault, the side curtains were drawn partway onto the stage and Radames descended from high above in a steel shark cage, open on the side toward the audience. Radames clearly had a safety belt, as it took him an untoward amount of time to get unhooked from it so that he could step out of the cage. Aida of course emerged from the wings. Basically the production was true to the text, nothing at all outrageous, and couldn't have cost a great deal of money.

The outstaning performer for me was Marco Vortogna as Amonasro. He had a superb voice and was fully involved in his character. The only downside was his costume. Another reviewer compared it to Papageno's. The bulk of the costume was geometrically-patterned pantaloons, with furs (think coyote, not mink) draped over his torso. Yes, he's not dressed as the King of Ethiopia, but neither was he dressed in simple rags. Perhaps it's a beat-up version of what someone think that exotic Ethiopians wear. The big name in the performance was Dolora Zajick as Amneris. I think she saved herself for her Act 4 confrontation with Radames, which merited a "wow!" from me at the scene change; for the prior three acts, she was good but not spectacular. Micaela Carosi was adequate as Aida. Her high point was being heard over all of the assembled forces at the conclusion of Act 2. Marcelo Giordani sang well as Radames but could take acting lessons from our Amonasro. Also notable was Christian Van Horn as the King of Egypt, with a wonderful but not overpowering bass voice. You can catch a superb clip of him rehearsing the part of Karenin in Anna Karenina on YouTube. He also runs an interesting blog at christianvanhorn.tumblr.com.