The Gluck Orfeo
in this series brought forth a cautious
recommendation (Brilliant 92273: see
review). Moving to Verdi (and therefore
moving more to home ground, one would
imagine), this Aida is generally
more recommendable. It boasts some fine
singing, solid conducting and an adequate,
if not particularly inspiring, production.
The orchestra immediately
sounds more at home in the Prelude than
anywhere in the Gluck. Oren leads a
delicate performance, the strings coping
well with Verdi’s demands. He sticks
to his singers like glue (‘Ritorna vincitor’
shows just how on-the-ball he is). The
curtain rises on a conventional set
- Egyptian columns dominate the stage.
Dress will likewise disgruntle few,
obviously intending to take us back
in years to the Egypt of yore. Pastel
colours for Act II are effective and
easy on the eye. Note that in Act II
there are several instances of an irritating
camera-work trait of this product: suddenly
we are watching from a floor-level camera,
looking up at singers and, indeed (in
the ‘Dance of the Moorish Slaves’) dancers.
It looks cheap and amateurish and mars
the production, not to mention interrupting
the flow of Verdi’s masterpiece (while
watching the first time I had hoped
an example of this at the very end of
Act I was a one-off).
Fiorenza Cedolins is
a young-looking, fairly slim Aida (her
discography boasts a Tosca with
Mehta and Bocelli on Decca, by the way).
She certainly has the high register
this part requires, climactic high As,
Bs and Cs being unerringly placed at
appropriate dynamics. Her legato, too,
is smooth and intensely Verdian. Yet
she can tend towards the warbly, an
off-putting trait that can demean her
dignity. Her pitching is generally accurate
and, at least when, in Act IV, Verdi
asks her and Radamès to sing
in octaves, they do (not always the
case!). ‘O terra addio’, her Act IV
farewell, is heartfelt, and she produces
some lovely high B flats. ‘O patria
mia’ is very affecting in Cedolins’
reading.
As Radamès,
Walter Fraccaro is generally quite strong,
although lower notes cause a problem
(and this is evident right from the
start: so, despite quite a strong start
to ‘Se quel guerrier’, his low D on
‘Vittoria’ shows a weakness in his armour).
He can tend towards the literal (Act
IV) and a shade more heroism (when he
reveals his plan in Act III) would not
have gone amiss. Fraccaro’s acting is
not great (and he even looks embarrassed
at who and where he is at one point
near the close of Act I), but he is
several levels above Dolora Zajick in
that department. Zajick (here Amneris)
is a leading mezzo in the opera world
(the biggest name on this Aida,
that’s for sure). She has a large voice
and tons of confidence, yet sometimes
her gestures do not match what one hears.
She does not look angry in Act
IV, for example, when she curses the
jealousy that has driven her to destroy
Radamès, although close your
eyes and you will find that she sounds
it.
Vittorio Vitelli’s
Amonasro is focused, his diction clear.
He utters a convincing and powerful
plea for clemency in Act II (‘Ma tu,
Re, tu signore possente’), yet his acting
is not all it could be - this becomes
clear in his Act IV duet with Aida,
where Cedolins is substantially more
natural a presence. Yet in the same
scene he impresses by his long-spun
legato line. Ramfis (Giacomo Prestia)
sounds well (his career highlight seems
to have been taking the part of Montano
on the truly excellent Domingo/Chung
DG Otello).
Carlo Striuli is, vocally,
a weak King, his voice lacking firmness
(around low B natural) and he also can
appear wooden as a character.
The chorus sing well,
with lusty male voices especially in
the grand spectacle of the famous ‘Gloria
al’Egito’. Of the lesser roles, perhaps
mention should go to Angelo Casertano’s
Messenger. A pity Antoniella Trevisan’s
Priestess is so distanced in the balance.
A pity also that the
audience’s applause begins straight
after the touching ending, and interesting
that they reserve their biggest cheer
for the conductor rather than any of
the singers. But then again in this
case the whole does add up to
more that the sum of its parts, and
this is due to Daniel Oren’s sure grasp
of the opera’s structure.
A qualified recommendation,
then. A starrier DVD recommendation
(that also includes Zajick as Amneris)
is on DG 073 019, conducted by James
Levine with his Met forces and with
Domingo as Radamès.
Colin Clarke
The whole does
add up to more that the sum of its parts,
and this is due to Daniel Oren’s sure
grasp of the opera’s structure. A qualified
recommendation. ... see Full Review
Chorus and Orchestra of the San Carlo Theatre,
Naples/Daniel Oren.
BRILLIANT
CLASSICS - THE OPERA SERIES 92272 [158’00]
