It is important to note this production of Aida (by
Verdi) stars Maria Chiara as Aida and Luciano Pavarotti as Radames and
it is filmed at La Scala in Milan. (It might be listed as "Teatro alla
Scala.") Aida is a grand opera. The most famous of the grand operas
and has been done several times. Maria Chiara is a current favorite for
the role of Aida. The DVD is put out by RM Arts. This performance was
done in 1986 but the DVD came out in 1999. There have been many film
adaptations of Aida. A few have made it to the big screen.
It is sung in Italian and has English subtitles,
which is good. Even if you understand the language being sung, opera is
sung tremollo. The added shake you hear in the long notes. For me, this
makes it difficult to catch all the words. Sadly, not all the words are
translated, just enough to get the idea of the song and the plot.
Aida, a captured Ethiopian princess, is torn
between love of her homeland, family and the man who loves her. Radames,
is the man Aida loves. He is appointed Commander of the Egyptian Army
and sent off to fight the Ethiopian invasion. Amneris is the daughter of
the pharaoh. She senses the feelings between Aida and Radames which
angers her. She is also in love with Radames. Radames returns to Egypt
victorious along with a group of Ethiopian prisoners. Included in the
group is Amonasro, Aida's father. Amonasro manipulates Aida into
discovering the battle plan of the Egyptian Army from Radames. He is
discovered giving the details to Aida and Amonasro. Radames is
sentenced to be buried alive.
Aida is a grand opera. Meaning, it is to be
performed in a grand style. This is a real budget buster of a
production. Aida was commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt. The story
was inspired by the eminent French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, whom
the Khedive later appointed to supervise its sets and costumes. Camille
du Locle, Director of Theatre de l’Opera Comique in Paris, took
Mariette’s draft of the story in French and conveyed it to Verdi. It
was first performed at the Cairo Opera House December 24. 1871. I had
to look that up. The DVD only has the performance and scene selections.
Setting and costumes are certainly grand in this
production. Costumes glitter, props are huge, and all is impressive to
see. In Act II where Amneris is about to trick Aida into revealing the
love she has for Radames, you notice that some of the female servents in
the background are topless. Maybe an attempt to be authentic? This
production was never released as a movie so it is not rated. Maria
Chiara is Aida, Luciano Pavarotti is Radames and Ghena Dimitrova is
Amneris.
