Act 1 Scene 1 took place in front of a large tan stone wall, or rather three walls delimited by two square columns. The middle wall was somewhat recessed, allowing the various characters to enter and exit by slipping behind the left and right walls. For Scene 2, the walls were removed to reveal the Temple of Pthah, where Radames received his commission as the general of the Egyptian army. This time the wall was against the back of the stage, with various stone platforms jutting out from it. In the center, supported ten feet above the stage by the wall structure, was some sort of idol; from its space, ramps led upwards to the left and right.
Act II Scene 1, Amneris’s chambers, featured another stone wall with Egyptian paintings on it. In the center, a small raised platform was marked at its front corners by square pillars, and on this platform was Amneris’s chaise longue. The transition to Scene 2 was accomplished by lowering the “crown moulding” from on high down to stage level, while the wall and chaise longue were dropped into the basement. The Triumphal March took place in front of a structure that vaguely resembled Abu Simel, with Egyptian gods and hieroglyphs carved into a massive wall upstage, with another raised platform for the King of Egypt and his daughter, Amneris. There were no elephants, or even props made to suggest elephants, but there were horses. Six trumpet players shared the King’s reviewing stand; they played loooooong ceremonial trumpets.
Act III was set on the banks of the Nile. On the left, an entryway and steps led into the Temple of Isis, where Amneris prayed before her wedding ceremony. On the right were rocks as tall as a human, with a path wending among them. The painted backdrop showed a low but extensive structure on a hill on the other side of the Nile; on our side of the Nile were many plants, perhaps papyrus bushes.
Act IV Scene 1, in which Amneris offers to save Radames if he will give up his love for Aida, was played in front of yet another stone wall. Scene 2, the trial of Radames, featured a large stone plaza surrounded by stone pillars, with a couple of stone pillars in the interior. Scene 3, the tomb, was somewhat of an echo of Act 1 Scene 1, with a middle wall recessed behind left and right walls, allowing Aida to appear from the depths of the tomb. But the tomb was only half the height of the stage; the ceiling of the tomb formed the floor of the surface on which Amneris could walk back and forth, lamenting her fate.
Our cast:
Aida: Liudmyla Monastyrska
Amneris: Olga Borodina
Radamès: Roberto Alagna
Amonasro: George Gagnidze
Ramfis: Štefan Kocán
The King: Miklós Sebestyén
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Production: Sonja Frisell
Set Designer: Gianni Quaranta
The Met, of course, presented a spectacular Triumphal March, with a cast of what seemed like hundreds, though we learned at intermission that supers would march across the stage in one costume, do a quick change, and march across again in a different guise. As for the singing, only Olga Borodina’s Amneris of Act IV Scenes 1 and 2 and George Gagnidze’s Amonasro of Act 2 Scene 2 offered much to get excited about. On the whole, the production was entertaining but rarely moving, somewhat short of a beta.
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