Aida
1981
Contrary to popular belief, AIDA, Giuseppe Verdi's homage to the late-nineteenth century penchant for exoticism, was not commissioned for or performed at the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, indeed it would be a full two years before the premiere of AIDA at the Egyptian Khedive's newly-constructed opera house. Over a .. Read more
| Starring | Margaret Price, Luciano Pavarotti, San Francisco Opera |
|---|---|
| Director | Brian Large, Brian Large |
| Genres | Music/Musical, World Cinema |
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Aida
Contrary to popular belief, AIDA, Giuseppe Verdi's homage to the late-nineteenth century penchant for exoticism, was not commissioned for or performed at the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, indeed it would be a full two years before the premiere of AIDA at the Egyptian Khedive's newly-constructed opera house. Over a century later, Sam Wanamaker's production stars Luciano Pavarotti as Radames, commander of the Egyptian Army, who falls for Ethiopian slave Aida, portrayed by the soprano Margaret Price.
| Starring | Margaret Price, Luciano Pavarotti, San Francisco Opera |
|---|---|
| Director | Brian Large, Brian Large |
| Studio | TELDEC VIDEO (WARNER CLASSICS) |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 43 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Music/Musical, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Italian |
| Subtitles | DVD: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 26 Aug 2002 Production year: 1981 |
| Format | DVD |
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Most helpful member's review
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Very traditional stand and deliver performance
Whilst the grandeur of Ancient Egyptian architecture may have dominated the lives of the Egyptians, the sets for this production from San Francisco dwarf the singers and are a little distracting - pillars keep sliding around between scene changes! It probably looked better live in the theatre, but the spectacle tends to oppress the singers into giving decent musical performances but pretty ropey dramatic ones. I'm a great fan of Margaret Price's creamy velvet voice, but her 'acting' in this production is terribly disappointing, she doesn't look too confident with the direction, but yet manages to sing with ravishing beauty despite all the distractions around her. Pavarotti does what he does best, he stands and delivers a strong performance in his more youthful voice (recorded in 1981). Toczyska took a while to grow on me as Amneris, and it was only in the last act that I really began to enjoy her performance. Throughout, the production is terribly traditional almost to the point of dullness, the characterisations come across very much as cardboard cut-outs - but shut your eyes and enjoy some fabulous singing.
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Most recent members' review
View all -
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Very traditional stand and deliver performance
Whilst the grandeur of Ancient Egyptian architecture may have dominated the lives of the Egyptians, the sets for this production from San Francisco dwarf the singers and are a little distracting - pillars keep sliding around between scene changes! It probably looked better live in the theatre, but the spectacle tends to oppress the singers into giving decent musical performances but pretty ropey dramatic ones. I'm a great fan of Margaret Price's creamy velvet voice, but her 'acting' in this production is terribly disappointing, she doesn't look too confident with the direction, but yet manages to sing with ravishing beauty despite all the distractions around her. Pavarotti does what he does best, he stands and delivers a strong performance in his more youthful voice (recorded in 1981). Toczyska took a while to grow on me as Amneris, and it was only in the last act that I really began to enjoy her performance. Throughout, the production is terribly traditional almost to the point of dullness, the characterisations come across very much as cardboard cut-outs - but shut your eyes and enjoy some fabulous singing.
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