Yes, I am diversifying the operas I am watching. So for my twentieth opera, I figured it's a good idea to see the very first opera that I was introduced to, back when I was still a student. This opera was Aida.
I remember being in 10th grade in Japan, and during music class, we were introduced to the opera as a musical form. I therefore got to know the plot of this tragic opera, and also recognise a few tunes. Funny enough, the triumphal march happens to be the favourite background music played during graduation ceremonies in the Philippines. Little did they know that this march - in the opera - actually is played when Egypt parades its wartime spoils from neighbouring Ethiopia. I wonder whether that's appropriate given graduation as an event.
Anyway, let me talk about the production. There were aspects that I liked, and aspects which made my head scratch. First of all, I really liked how they positioned many of the singers amidst the audience. In fact, there was a singer in front of me, two seats to my left, and also behind me. The orchestra was not in the pit, but rather, on the back area of the stage. And in front were just three characters: Radames, Aida, and Amneris. The rest of the characters, for example, the King, Aida's father, the priests, all of those were positioned within the audience.
This layout might be slightly puzzling, but at least it created for a wonderful musical experience. It's essentially surround sound. Music was coming from all angles. And this was definitely a nifty effect. I've experienced spatial effects in music previously with the works of Iannis Xenakis, and I enjoyed it immensely, but not in the form of opera.
However, putting the majority of characters offstage and only leaving Radames, Aida, and Amneris on stage also has its drawbacks. Basically, all of the action happens mentally now. What was supposed to be ballet and dance segments in the original production are now reduced to large segments of music where nothing seems to be happening. And sorry, but the mimes that Radames and Amneris were doing to each other were not really cutting it. And I don't quite understood why there was a large sausage on stage.
Yeah, the production felt more like a concert performance rather than music theatre, given the sparse action on stage. I suppose I knew that there were singers positioned within the audience, but I didn't realise that the sparse and minimalist stage would be an implication to this. Let's just say my eyes were slightly wanting for something more visually interesting.
In any case, it was definitely an interesting production of Aida, and something that would provoke a discussion or two, which indeed happened with me.
