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A bucolic Aida Montreal
Joliette (Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay)
08/04/2024 -
Giuseppe Verdi: Aida
Angel Blue (Aida), Judit Kutasi (Amneris), SeokJong Baek (Radamès), Ambrogio Maestri (Amonasro), Alexandros Stavrakakis (Ramfis), Morris Robinson (Il Re), Sarah Dufresne (Sacerdotessa), Matthew Cairns (Un messaggero)
Chœur Métropolitain, François A. Ouimet & Pierre Tourville (chorus masters), Orchestre Métropolitain, Yannick Nézet‑Séguin (conductor)
This was truly a glorious musical moment: a first‑rate cast and with a superb maestro at the helm, presented in the charming bucolic setting of the Lanaudière Festival. Located about one hour northeast of Montréal, much of the public for the operatic event of the season hailed from Quebec’s largest metropolis.
Thanks to the festival’s director Renaud Loranger’s initiative of inviting fellow Canadian Yannick Nézet‑Séguin, musical director and principal director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera to rehearse Aida at Lanaudière, the public had the rare chance to hear top opera singers that are to perform Aida in New York this coming season.
As grateful as one is for this opportunity, Aida doesn’t strike me as the most appropriate opera to present in a concert setting. Together with Don Carlos, this is Verdi’s most Meyerbeerian opera, replete with grand spectacle. The second act, replete with triumphal march and appropriate bombast, felt strange in the opera‑in‑concert format.
Angel Blue is a glorious soprano, endowed with impressive pianissimi and clear phrasing. Both her “Ritorna vincitor” and “O patria mia” were splendidly sung. The latter aria was truly moving and was one of the performance’s most memorable moments. My only reservation would be a weakness in her lower register, which hopefully this young singer will in time rectify.
SJ Baek, Y. Nézet‑Séguin (© Annie Bigras)
South Korean SeokJong Baek was a revelation. His powerful voice is not Italianate per se, but it is truly brilliant. Best described as a heroic lyric tenor, Baek demonstrated excellent diction, exuded huge stage presence and is endowed with an elegant musical style. He impressed in the murderous opening aria, “Celeste Aida”. This difficult aria is Radames’ first, hardly having warmed up. Yet Baek managed it brilliantly, effortlessly. He missed an elongated B‑flat in the final phrase, “un trono vicino al sol,” yet sustained the note for quite some time. Despite this minor flaw, he was magnificent. Recently heard as Calaf at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, SeokJong Baek is likely to become one of the opera world’s most prominent tenors.
Romanian mezzo Judit Kutasi was the cast’s weakest link. Despite a pleasant timbre and a huge voice, she had weak diction. Juxtaposed with her exceptionally refined colleagues Blue and Baek, her performance was jarring, almost vulgar. In the hands of a more proficient mezzo, the character of Amneris occasionally takes the spotlight from Aida, as the role is quite prominent and the music Verdi concocted for Amneris is among his best mezzo writing. Dramatically, she exaggerated her imperiousness in the Act II duet with Aïda, “Fu la sorte dell’armi a’ tuoi funesta,” and failed to convince with her Act IV duet with Radames, “Già i Sacerdoti adunansi,” usually one of the opera’s strongest moments.
The much‑awaited Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri, recently heard as Don Pasquale at La Scala, disappointed. A brilliant Don Pasquale and Falstaff, Maestri was less convincing as Amonasro, King of Ethiopia and Aida’s father. His timbre was appealing, but his expressivity was lacking. Much more could have been done dramatically with this role, even without the benefit of elaborate sets.
Greek bass Alexandros Stavrakakis impressed as Ramfis. Endowed with a beautiful instrument and an excellent diction, he made the secondary and relatively brief role of the high priest Ramfis seem more prominent with his winning charisma. American bass Morris Robinson, as the King, was more than adequate, but his performance suffered due to poor diction. Canadian soprano Sarah Dufresne, in the brief role of the priest, impressed with her brilliant lyric soprano.
Nézet-Séguin seemed to truly relish this opera. He was especially effective in the more powerful third and fourth acts. He had invigorated the ballet music of Act II, usually the opera’s weakest music. Montréal’s Orchestre Métropolitain was well‑rehearsed, and sounded splendid at moments, especially in Act III’s Nile scene and in Act IV’s final tomb scene. The chorus performed admirably in Act II’s “Gloria all’Egitto,” but was less effective in much of the rest.
Nowadays, most operas-in-concert are “semi‑staged,” and are often more effective in this format than in poorly‑staged “full” performances. For Aida, given the space needed for both a large orchestra and a sizable chorus, there isn’t room for anything resembling sets, even less grandiose ones (Aida is notorious for its epic sets). Nonetheless, costumes would have helped to enhance the drama. Hopefully this Aida marks a new tradition for Lanaudière, rehearsing operas destined for New York, the crème de la crème of the Met’s upcoming season, presented in concert form. As Carmen says: “Il est permis d’attendre, il est doux d’espérer.”
Ossama el Naggar
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