Overheard while in line for the ladies room: "This is on my bucket list. At last I can say I saw this grand spectacle". I couldn't agree with this lady more. Aida, with its most exotic setting, is the grandest of the grand operas. Filled with spectacular scenes, large sets and a cast of powerful voices producing out-of-this-world sounds, it is the mother of all operas.It was absorbing all throughout. The most unforgettable moment is the popular triumphal procession impressive with its cast of over 150 on stage, beautiful horses without any harness and performers stepping in style and marching in synchronized presentation. Do not blink or you'll miss something.
The music, the arias, the magnificent choruses and elaborate ballet make up the complex ensemble. A high point was the heart-warming solo "Celeste Aida" by the tenor Johan Bohta who played Radames. Violeta Urmana starred in the lead role and sang equally striking melodic solos all throughout the opera. From season to season, it is the same blockbuster opera lovers would not want to miss.
It was hard to escape the fact that on this Saturday matinees, the average subscribers are senior citizens. They are the opera buffs who, cane and all, would rather climb multiple steps with but a few landings to the Family Circle section to see the performance than go to the theatre to watch the live HD transmission. Not that I do not support the Met's program of widening its audience globally and to all age groups, but I'm also one who likes to see the act on stage while I listen to singing. What can I say, you can't teach old dogs new tricks!
Below is the newly renovated plaza of the Lincoln Center. The well choreographed water effects of the fountain is the centerpiece of this iconic performing arts center.
Aptly said, "Even the water dances".
