SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

SEEN AND HEARD UK OPERA CONCERT REVIEW
 

Verdi, Aida (Premiere) at the Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, 17.9.2010 (GF)

Directed by Georg Rootering

Sets by Bernd Franke

Costumes by Götz Lanzelot Fischer

Lighting Design by Ilkka Paloniemi

Choreography by Marilena Fontoura

 

Cast:

Aida – Mardi Byers
Amneris – Lilli Paasikivi
Radamès – Antonello Palombi
Amonasro – Jorge Lagunes

Ramfis – Giorgio Giuseppini

The King of Egypt – Mika Kares

Messenger – Aki Alamikkotervo

High Priestess – Hanna Husáhr

Dancers, Finnish National Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Stefano Ranzani

Production Picture © Heikki Tuuli

 

The new Aida at the Finnish National Opera has a clear message: the horrors of war and the humiliation of the losers. The obvious place to expose this is the triumph scene with its jubilant patriotic choruses and blazing Aida-trumpets, here antiphonally placed in two groups, one on a balcony on the stage and one on the second balcony in the audience. The celebrations are accompanied by projected photos of war scenes, air fighters, bombs and tanks. The Ethiopian prisoners are brought in dressed in orange overalls and immediately evoke associations of Guantánamo detainees; in a ballet scene three uniformed men commit illusory rape of three helpless girls – a traditional method for occupation troops to subjugate civilians. There are of course several oppressors already in the basic plot of this opera: Amneris, Ramfis, Amonasro – so you only have to turn your head slightly to realize that the phenomenon is omnipresent throughout history. There is no specified time period for the proceedings in Aida and this gives us a long perspective. In this production the sets could emanate from ancient Egypt but also from later periods, the costumes are a hotchpotch of styles, ranging from the gigantic King’s yellow rocker outfit and Ramphis and the priests colourful robes, through to the ladies’ evening dresses and the messenger’s dark lounge suit. Radamès appears in various outfits but is basically portrayed as a working class hero. My description may give the impression of a split up and incongruous production but all these seemingly loose ends manage to fit together in a visually attractive and evocative performance, not least through imaginative lighting.

 

Nor is it solely a pamphlet on evil powers that seem to rule mankind. The opera deals a lot with power and glory but it is also an intimate relationship drama, the love triangle Radamès, Aida, Amneris, and this is in no way played down. Amneris may stand out as an evil character but her love for Radamès is true (but maybe not unselfish) and the glorious singing of Lilli Paasikivi makes her emerge as warmer than she seems in most performances. Verdi also lavished some of his most inspired music on this character and even contemplated renaming the opera Amneris. A further motif in this many-facetted work is Aida’s own double loyalties. She loves Radamès and she loves her fatherland but in the end she loses both. The two big duets and ensuing trio in Act III is the dramatic apex in this opera and in this production it is bursting with highly charged emotions. Whether the final scene makes the impact that it should is open to debate: here the vault in the temple of Vulcan is spacious as an assembly hall and the intimacy in this most heart-breaking of love scenes is lost. I also believe that others besides me reacted to Radamès swallowing poison when Aida has already passed away.

 

Aida is a complex work and this production may be idiosyncratic in more than one way but it is uncommonly beautiful and it works well on several levels. The King of Egypt is, rightly I think, secluded from the proceedings on the stage, standing on his own on the second balcony and being seen on stage only as projections. Mika Kares’s booming bass is extremely well matched with his gigantic appearance and overall the singing at the premiere was on a high level. The other bass, Giorgio Giuseppini, was a sinister Ramfis, a bit throaty but with venomous blackness. Jorge Lagunes, a demonic and vocally brilliant Amonasro, lacked the warmth for the Ethiopian king’s lyrical outburst in the triumphal scene but his singing and acting in the Nile scene was spine-chilling. The production also boasted a Radamès with heroic ringing top notes and dramatic power but also the ability to scale down in the many lyrical moments. Celeste Aida was finely nuanced although he refrained from the pianissimo ending of the aria. He showed great sensitivity throughout and sounded rather like Franco Corelli on best behaviour in the Nile scene with impressive dark low tones. A fine tuned final duet crowned his performance and there, as all through the opera, Mardi Byers stood out as a great lirico-spinto soprano – more lirico than spinto, in fact and, to be honest, most of Aida’s music is on the lyrical side. Both her arias were masterfully nuanced. I have already mentioned Lilli Paasikivi’s formidable Amneris and she has to be counted among the top contenders worldwide in dramatic mezzo roles, this one especially calling for a brilliant soprano top register.

 

Aki Alamikkotervo, who has become the leading character tenor at Finnish National Opera, was a good Messenger and the young Swedish soprano Hanna Husáhr made her house debut with well modulated singing of the High Priestess’ offstage lines. She is scheduled to sing Adina in L’elisir d’amore later this season.

 

The chorus and orchestra of the National Opera have been in excellent shape whenever I have heard them during the last decade or so and this Aida was no exception. With Italian Stefano Ranzani at the helm we were offered a full-blooded performance, overwhelming in the triumphal scene.

 

There are eleven more performances scheduled during September and October and the production will no doubt be a valuable in the repertoire for years to come.

 

Göran Forsling

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