BWW Reviews: Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour's AIDA Combines The Timeless Story of Love and War With The Sydney Skyline

Friday 27th March 2015, Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney

Giuseppe Verdi's AIDA, written to open the Khedivial Opera House in Egypt in 1871, proves its timelessness as Director Gale Edwards blends old and new worlds on the waterfront stage. With a 18meter tall partial ruins of the head of Nefertiti towering over Farm Cove, the original setting in Egypt has been retained but the line between classical and modern Egypt is blurred as ancient religion and traditional costumes sit alongside futuristic soldiers and military officers reminiscent of European World War I and World War II strategists.

Mark Thompson(Set and Costume Design) has designed a stage, built over the water, with a very pronounced rake allows for vertical variety with a raised walks bordering the sides and rear, leading up to the impressive head of Nefertiti which shows signs of wear, evidence that this is not set in Ancient Egypt. The barrels lining the stage below the catwalk indicate the war is now, as with many conflicts in the region in the modern era, centered on oil. The flags lining the upper walks are reminiscent of the banners carried into war in past conflicts. The mottled red and black stage creates the image of the desert, in contrast to the green of Ethiopia that is referenced through the storyline.

The first half of the performance introduces the concepts and characters with grand displays. Thompson has created opulent costumes to display the wealth of the Egyptian royalty with the King's military suit cloaked in gold, Princess Amneris in classical robes and her handmaidens in extravagant 18th Century French Court inspired dresses with excessive wigs. The force of the Egyptian army is demonstrated by the white suited officers adorned in gold regalia and the black vinyl clad soldiers that look like a cross between Michael Jackson video extras and something out of an S&M club. The Ethiopian slave women, including Aida, are adorned in swathes of bright colored pattered fabric creating full dresses and headscarves not necessarily associated with Ethiopian costume but more traditionally part of other African nations dress but they help establish the difference between the two sides of the war. The captured Ethiopian men wear colored army fatigues and flak jackets.

Milijana Nikolic as Egyptian Princess Amneris conveys the pampered woman who is used to getting what she wants as she sets her sights on Ramadès, Captain of the Guard in the Egyptian Army. Nikolic demonstrates Amneris' disappointment at the realisation that Ramadès is in love with Ethiopian slave Aida, and her mezzo soprano suits the dark cunning manipulation as she tricks Aida into believing Ramadès died in battle. Walter Fraccaro as Ramadès sits between the loyalty to his country and the forbidden love for the slave girl and his compassion is shown as he asks that the Ethiopian prisoners be freed. Latonia Moore captures Aida's purity as she sings in a clear soprano of love of the man she cannot have and the land she will no longer see.

Verdi's work gives Edwards a lot of opportunity for high theatrics in the first two acts which she utilizes to the full with dancers, choirs of priests, priestesses and ministers, live animals and pyrotechnics, with the climax of the famous Triumphal March for which it would have been nice to be able to see Brian Castles-Onion (conductor) and the orchestra.. As a potential first for a staging of AIDA, Edwards also brings the High Priestess into view as a winged goddess. The work however lacks the same level of spectacle in the second half of the performance as Verdi narrows the story to the love triangle. The purpose of an arch rising to approximately 45degrees was unexplained by the storyline and it was unclear if there was a fault in the mechanics. Edwards has utilized the different levels of the stage to create vertical variety during the numerous duets and trios, helping define the different emotions as Verdi's music blends to a precise cacophony of sound with so much going on at once.

Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour is more of an Event than Opera Australia's normal schedule at the Opera House and the backdrop of the city, Opera House, and Harbour Bridge across the water makes for a stunning night. For lovers of Opera, this is a classic tale with an ongoing relevance as war still continues around the world and love and emotion is timeless and Edwards' treatment is beautiful. For those new to Opera, this is worth it for the experience and the storyline is easy enough to follow.

AIDA

HANDA OPERA ON SYDNEY HARBOUR

27 March - 26 April 2015

Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney.

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