OPERA REVIEW: 'Aida' worth the wait

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Sarasota Opera’s 28th season of the Verdi Cycle finally includes the Verdi opera most often requested: “Aida,” composed for performance at the Cairo Opera House in 1871. Since its debuts in Cairo and Paris, it has become the most frequently performed opera in the international repertoire. This performance made it abundantly clear why it was wise to schedule this landmark production now, when the opera company has more than achieved the professional skill required.

The Triumphal March scene in Verdi's "Aida" at Sarasota Opera.  ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

The Triumphal March scene in Verdi's "Aida" at Sarasota Opera. ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

This is a truly electrifying opera, combining incandescent music with deep drama. The plot involves both simple jealousy and, at the end, sacrifice for love, as an important Egyptian military officer is forced to choose between the woman he loves -- an Ethiopian slave of royal blood, Aida – and the obsessive and possessive daughter of the Egyptian King. The officer, Radames, chooses to love and to die for Aida, despite threats and begging from Amneris, the powerful and lusty Egyptian princess.

This may seem to be a simple choice, but it is not, assuming that royal blood is stronger than the common variety. We witness Radames as he is welcomed as a hero, for having defeated the Ethiopian army despite his love for the exiled Ethiopian princess. Triumph doesn’t endure, however, as Amneris deduces that he is in love with her slave and has him convicted of treason and condemned to death by burial alive.

What this framework, seemingly a prototype of today’s soap opera cinema, provides is the basis of enormously involving music, much of it devoted to thematic material that is repeated in different contexts. “Celeste Aida”, possibly the most familiar tune in the show, turns up in fragments at several points in the drama, providing additional emotional punch remarkably contemporary in its effect on the audience.

The openin

Michelle Johnson in the title rolf of Verdi's "Aida" at Sarasota Opera. ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

Michelle Johnson in the title rolf of Verdi's "Aida" at Sarasota Opera. ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

g night performance achieved a very high level of excellence, clearly spotlighting Sarasota Opera’s position as an important regional opera company. The event consistently reached international standards, especially in the work of both orchestra and chorus, supporting the tragic convolutions of the central trio:
Aida (Michelle Johnson, soprano), Amneris (Leann Sandel-Pantaleo, mezzo-soprano) and Radames (Jonathan Burton, tenor), each of whom used their powerful voices to great dramatic effect.

In addition to these magnetic characters, we heard the rich bass voice of Young Bok Kim, as Ramfis the chief priest, as well as Marco Nistico. baritone, as Aida’s father, the King of Ethiopia, and Jeffrey Beruan, bass, as the Egyptian king. Possibly most essential to the overall impact of the music was the magnificent chorus, trained by Roger L. Bingaman, and the excellent Sarasota Opera Orchestra, led by Maestro DeRenzi.

Michelle Johnson as Aida and Jonathan Burton as Radames in Sarasota Opera's 2016 production of "Aida." ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

Michelle Johnson as Aida and Jonathan Burton as Radames in Sarasota Opera's 2016 production of "Aida." ROD MILLINGTON PHOTO/SARASOTA OPERA

The production, designed by David P. Gordon, with impressive costumes by Howard Tsvi Kaplan and lighting by Ken Yunker, was consistently compelling, bringing visual and spatial relationships to the Opera House stage we had not seen previously and probably considered impossible, accommodating the principal singers, chorus, dancers and an army of supernumeraries.

All of this requires strong and imaginative stage direction, bringing focus to the intense drama unfolding before us. This was achieved in abundance by Stephanie Sundine, who drew a level of intensity from the singers we have seldom encountered anywhere.

Our wonderful “local opera house” was rocketed into new realms with this performance, something that could have been achieved only with skill and commitment, taking huge risks. We have heard that more than 200 people were involved in this production. Bravi!

Definitely worth the wait.

OPERA REVIEW

Aida

By Giuseppe Verdi, verses by Antonio Ghislanzoni,
sung in Italian, Victor DeRenzi, artistic director and conductor. Sarasota Opera. Reviewed Jan. 30 at the Sarasota Opera House. Through March 19. 941-328-1300; www.sarasotaopera.org 

OPERA REVIEW
"Aida"
By Giuseppe Verdi, verses by Antonio Ghislanzoni, sung in Italian, Victor DeRenzi, artistic director and conductor. Sarasota Opera. Reviewed Jan. 30 at the Sarasota Opera House. Through March 19. 941-328-1300; www.sarasotaopera.org
Last modified: February 2, 2016
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