Profile reviews
4Commendations must also be extended to the wonderful work of the choruses, which play an important role in this opera. This is especially true for the chorus of the priests, which sings in piously reverential tones in the Temple, and then with lusty cries for blood and revenge, following the defeat of the Ethiopian army. (Indeed, a significant aspect of the tragedy of Aida is the insistence of the priests that defense of the nation required revenge, and that the defeated enemy, in the character of its king, Amonasro, likewise lived for revenge. Thus, the love between Radames and Aida was doomed.) The HGO chorus, under the direction of Richard Bado, performed superbly.
Stubb, Flask, Daggoo, Gardiner shored up the cast with ample and forthright performances, along with the Chorus, under the leadership of Christopher James Ray.
Past Production Reviews
4Commendations must also be extended to the wonderful work of the choruses, which play an important role in this opera. This is especially true for the chorus of the priests, which sings in piously reverential tones in the Temple, and then with lusty cries for blood and revenge, following the defeat of the Ethiopian army. (Indeed, a significant aspect of the tragedy of Aida is the insistence of the priests that defense of the nation required revenge, and that the defeated enemy, in the character of its king, Amonasro, likewise lived for revenge. Thus, the love between Radames and Aida was doomed.) The HGO chorus, under the direction of Richard Bado, performed superbly.
Stubb, Flask, Daggoo, Gardiner shored up the cast with ample and forthright performances, along with the Chorus, under the leadership of Christopher James Ray.
Patrick Summers conducted with tremendous sweep and subtlety, and Heggie's music registered with turbulence and disarming sweetness; the score is often borne aloft on woodwinds, and San Francisco's section sounded exemplary. So did the men of Ian Robertson's chorus, who sang with hearty, unflagging energy.
José Hernández' soft shoe routine was a delight.
