Verdi: Aida (Busseto, 2001)
 

Cast: Adina Aaron (Aida), Scott Piper (Radames), Kate Aldrich (Amneris), Giuseppe Gara (Amonasro), Enrico Giuseppe Iori (Ramfis), Paolo Pecchioli (Il Re); Orchestra and Choir of Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Massimiliano Steffanelli (conductor) Franco Zeffirelli (director)

Recorded in the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto, 27 January 2001, produced by Rai Trade

Issued on DVD in 2002 by TDK Mediactive (NTSC/region 0 with menus in English and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and Italian; DV-AIDDB, PAL/region 0 with menus in English and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian ).

Technical Details:
Picture Format: 4:3
Sound: LPCM Stereo; AC3 Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1

Running time: 142 minutes plus 45-minute supplement ('Making of Aida')

Sung in Italian
 
This recording gives 'provincial opera' a good name!
 
As part of the 'Centenario Verdiano' - the centenary of Verdi's death - Franco Zeffirelli directed this production in the tiny Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto, the conmposer's home town. The staging could have been by no one else with its rich, conventional sets and costumes. The orchestra appears to number no more than 35; the chorus is smaller. Neither will win laurels for precision, yet they provide a firm base and sing with enhusiasm. Simplistic choreography and a tiny corps leave the ballet no less satisfying than that in recordings on grand scale.
 
Steffanelli's conducting seems quixotic, but one interpretation may make it logical: he is creating, as nearly as possible, a literal reading of the score. The result is that recitatives are brisk and dramatically effective, arias and ensembles maintain a steady pace. Not all traditional modifications can be discarded without loss however. When 'air' is needed around a phrase to lift it above the general sonority, there is none to be breathed.
 
Let's get some technical points out of the way first. The picture is excellent and lighting is ample throughout. The sound shows little spatial separation but is accurate. Oddly, the level is substantially lower than usual. Two discs are used with the change at a logical point: the end of Act II. The supplement, 'Making of Aida', is a showcase for Zeffirelli longer than any of the acts.
 
And so to the singers - young and little known. Two stand out: Aldrich and Iori. Aldrich's Amneris is vital and sensual in sound and action. Her voice is seamless from a solid but not pushed low register well into the soprano's reaches. Despite her youth, the timbre approaches contralto. Iori proves to be a solid basso cantante, though surely he is too young for the sonority he offers.
 
Aaron may prove to be a superior Aida in time, but here she relies exclusively on a soft tone even where one expects solidity. Piper has an attractive tenor but one not yet fully formed. The ideas are all sound, the technique is sufficient, but overall he is tentative - perhaps understandably at first, but after the success of the diminuendo ending 'Celeste Aida', one would hope for more assurance.
 
Garra seems miscast as Amonasro. He might be Missal in Boris Godunov or Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos as he portrays the character, though the voice is satisfying and balances Aaron's well in Act III. Pecchioli is effective as the king despite a bass-baritone too light for the part. Never mind, together this cast sings and acts up a storm.
 
There are other recordings of Aida in which one admires the grandeur and relishes the notes. In contrast, this performance is less exciting but more satisfying. It is not a great and costly wine to be sipped but a modest vintage to be shared with friends. Not a Chateau Yquem but a Verdicchio - an invitation to become a bit tipsy, give up sober criticism and celebrate. Viva Verdi!
 
Related website:
TDK Mediactive www.tdk-mediactive.com
 
Michael Richter, 14 November 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.