Presented by The State Opera of South Australia
Reviewed Sat 31st July 2010
Venue: Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: Tues 3rd, Thurs 5th and Sat 7th August 7:30PM
Duration: 3hrs incl interval
Tickets: C Reserve $65, B Reserve $100, A Reserve $145, Premium $175/conc C Reserve, $55 B Reserve $85, A Reserve $125 (no concessions on tickets for Premium seating)
Bookings: BASS 131 241 or http://www.bass.net.au
The old saying tells us that “all that glisters is not gold” but, although the costumes and props might only be imitations of that precious metal, the State Opera production of Aida itself is solid gold through and through. The entire season was sold out before the first performance. Those who were waiting to hear reviews before booking tickets have missed out badly.
This production, which premiered in Perth late in 2008, was created by the Opera Conference, a partnership of Opera Australia, State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland and West Australian Opera. Director, Graeme Murphy, better known as a choreographer, has reinstated ballet into opera with a series of integrated dance interludes. The forces for this production are huge and the Triumphal March at the end of Act 2 is most impressive with the entire cast and six trumpeters on stage. There is movement, light and colour galore as the entire cast is involved in the stylised movement and constant focus on visual involvement as well as auditory. The last two acts, with the marked change to arias, duets and trios and a much smaller and more intimate scale, provides an amazing contrast as our focus moves strongly away from the spectacle and onto the plight of a handful of people.
Guiseppe Verdi’s opera concerns Radamès, leader of the Egyptian armies, and the love between him and Aida, a captured Ethiopian girl, now the slave of Amneris, daughter of the Egyptian King. Amneris, however, also loves Radamès and her jealousy leads to tragedy and sadness. Aida is, in fact, secretly the daughter of Amonasro, the Ethiopian King and it is his rescuing army that Radamès is heading off to fight as the opera opens, creating divided loyalties for Aida between her love for her country and her father and her love for Radamès.
With Kate Ladner as Aida, Rosario la Spina as Radamès and Elizabeth Campbell as Amneris, this is a strong trio in the primary roles and the interaction between them, both in the balance of their voices and in their characterisations, works superbly. It does not stop there, though, with terrific work from Douglas McNicol portraying Amonasro, David Parkin as the Egyptian King, David Hibberd as Ramphis, the High Priest and more fine casting in the smaller roles with Lecia Robertson as the high Priestess and Adam Goodburn as the messenger.
Kate Ladner is an absolute delight as Aida conveying the dilemma in which she finds herself and the agony that she endures over her decisions. Her beautiful tone and clear diction ensure that she is always a welcome addition to a State Opera production. Elizabeth Campbell is another popular singer with Adelaide audiences and her rich voice and committed performance here will add to that popularity. She brings out all of the anguish in her character’s situation. Rosario la Spina gives a powerful performance and, again, shows us the angst of being accused of being a traitor to his country alongside the tenderness of his love for Aida and willingness to die for her sake.
The visual aspects continue beyond the interest of the movement and dance. The central part of Roger Kirk’s set, developed from Murphy’s concept, is a pair of huge triangles, one vertical and one on the ground; the outline of a pyramid and its shadow. Onto these are projected a wide range of images, while other pieces of scenery, columns, trees, cut-outs of people and more, are flown or trucked in when needed to create scene changes. Kirk also designed the stunning costumes.
This is where the Visual Designer, Michael Gruchy, and the Projection Designers, The Brothers Gruchy, come in, along with Lighting Designer, Damien Cooper. The projected images and videos add so much to the visual appeal of this production. In Act 3, for instance, a scrim curtain is dropped in front of the vertical triangle, the projected golden pyramid image taking on a remarkable, holographic appearance. There is a wealth of ancient Egyptian religious imagery including a massive Eye of Horos, references to Ra, the Sun God, Ibis headed men attending the tomb and hieroglyphics projected onto the set.
Conductor, Graham Abbott, has done a superb job with the musical side of the production with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at their absolute best and the State Opera Chorus singing as though their lives depended on it. All this, coupled with the excellent work from the soloists, makes this a production that any opera lover will enjoy and remember for along time. It has something for everybody and certainly deserves to be sold out at every performance.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor Glam Adelaide.
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