After more than 260 performances, the Metropolitan Opera this week retired its “Aida” staging, phasing out one of the company’s last remaining holdovers from the last century.
The production, which premiered in December 1988, has been praised as a faithful rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic saga that has long wowed audiences with its mammoth sets and extravagant costumes.
But the prestigious New York cultural institution has been repositioning itself, showcasing more modern works by women and non-white composers and updating classics to appeal to younger audiences.
The outgoing spectacle, the brainchild of English director Sonja Frisell with sets by Italian designer Gianni Quaranta, has become known especially for a triumphant march scene in Act II, a 15-minute tour de force of theatrics, with live horses, dance troupes and multiple processions.
The scene won cheers again at Thursday’s night’s finale featuring Soprano Leah Crocetto as the Ethiopian slave Aida and Tenor Jorge de Leon as the Egyptian military commander Radames, war-doomed lovers in ancient Egypt.
Met General Manager Peter Gelb said a new staging to be presented in the 2024-5 season, would also be “spectacular,” comprising sets of underground catacombs and tombs, along with eye-catching lighting effects not around in Frisell’s day.
While Frisell’s production is “much beloved,” Gelb concluded “it would be very stimulating to have a new production.”
The new production will be directed by Tony-winning theater director Michael Mayer and feature African American soprano Angel Blue as Aida, Gelb said in an interview this week.
– Lost world –
Aida was first presented in 1871 amid a period of European fascination with Egypt following key archeological discoveries.
Quaranta, an Oscar-winning film art director, wanted to convey “monumentality,” but also “a certain sense of decadence,” he told AFP in an email interview.
“The ancient civilization was disappearing, as if buried by desert sand only to be rediscovered centuries later,” he said.
The show’s palate includes gold and a sun-bleached tan evoking a stony lost-world quality.
On opening night, Quaranta recalled in particular the throng in the second act when the Egyptian Princess Amneris’ room is lowered and replaced with a descending stage of soldiers in a row with their backs to the audience, ushering in the march scene.
“There was roaring applause,” said Quaranta, adding that at first you could not hear the music.
Quaranta acknowledged “disappointment” at the production’s retirement, but expressed gratitude at the long run.
“I understand the theater’s need to come up with another production with a different directorial and scenic point of view than that production,” he said.
“However, I hope that the set design, furniture and props, as well as the costumes, will be preserved: it would be nice to re-propose this production to the next generation, maybe in 20/30 years.”
– Changing mores…
