For one night only, a revered love story caught between impossible choices took shape set in a war-torn country.
With over 200 artists involved including the Back Bay Chorale as well as Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presented Verdi and Ghislanzoni’s stunning Italian opera, Aida for one gala benefit performance during Veteran’s Day weekend on Sunday, November 10 at 3PM at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. All funds raised benefited Boston Lyric Opera’s education, youth and community programs. Part of BLO’s You’ll Never Walk Alone themed season, this epic production ran 2 hours and 50 minutes including one 20-minute intermission. Click here for more information.
Prior to the start of the production, the Boston Lyric Opera celebrated a milestone for renowned bass-baritone opera singer Morris Robinson. Twenty-five years ago to the day on November 10, 1999, Robinson debuted onstage in the role of the King for Boston Lyric Opera’s Aida. Not only was he named the 2024 Artistic Honoree, but Mayor Wu named November 10th Morris Robinson Day. The honor was presented to him by his mentor Sharon Daniels. Once a Boston University college football player, a clearly moved Robinson delivered an inspiring and relatable speech about career pivoting and the stellar chance he received from Boston Lyric Opera.
Robinson’s charismatic presence as well as his rich, deep and commanding vocals as Ramfis in the following production depicts why Morris has had a lasting presence with Boston Lyric Opera.
Having never seen Aida performed as an opera but twice before as the Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical, it was amazing to see Verdi’s version which is the foundation in which this story was told. With the Boston Lyric Opera orchestra center stage and the chorus situated behind them, Aida was treated as a gala event enlivened by Aja M. Jackson’s atmospheric lighting in pinks, reds, blues, and gold backdrop weaving in images and symbols from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Jackson’s lighting had an encompassing effect creating a semi-panoramic view of images of multicolored Egyptian animals moving along the back of the theatre.
With trumpet accompaniment from the balconies, BLO conductor David Angus with Annie Rabbat, Brett Hodgdon, and Back Bay Chorale Music Director Stephen Spinelli navigates this complex orchestration of music to enrich this bold and compelling love story. Even with a brief pause during the production, Boston Lyric Opera handled the situation efficiently.
A fictional tale surrounding historical events, Aida explores a number of conflicted characters deliberating on love and loyalty during the Egyptian and Ethiopian war. Tenor Diego Torre delivers an impassioned performance as Radamès, an Egyptian commander in love with soprano Michelle Johnson as Ethiopian slave Aida while Aida’s father Amonasro, portrayed by baritone Brian Major, is a war prisoner. Mezzo-soprano Alice Chung delivers a multifaceted performance as resourceful Egyptian princess Amneris who wonders what it will take to win the love of Radamès .
Adorned in gala attire rather than costumes, the cast’s powerhouse vocals exude despair, passion and desperation into characters facing impossible choices. Decked out in coat and tails, Torres evokes sympathy through his torment and soaring vocals as commander Radamès torn between his love for Aida and loyalty to his people. In a distinctive multicolored gown, Michelle Johnson illustrates the gravity of Aida’s rage, passion and despair over her decisions, torn between her secret love for Radamès and her own people. Johnson as Aida is bold, charming, and audacious while always carrying a heavy heart.
However, Alice Chung as shrewd and privileged Amneris has plans of her own and strategizes how to get what she wants. With dynamic range in a jeweled accented gown, Chung brings her own psychological warfare in a stunning duet with Johnson. Their intense and melodic vocals deliver gravitas in a suspenseful stand off as romantic rivals. Chung is confident and manipulative catching Aida at her most vulnerable, but also brings sympathy to her character in the looming fear of losing what she holds most dear.
Johnson’s Aida also shares a powerful scene with Major as Amonasro. Major is eloquent and stealthily convincing in a pivotal scene in which Aida is faced with the consequences of her decisions. This weighty exchange is filled with raw emotion and distress as she is backed into a corner.
The riveting harmonies, the fervent declarations, and the deeply romantic lyrical context of this production demonstrate why Boston Lyric Opera has returned to this memorable show over the years since first performing Aida at the Hatch Shell in 1981. Its rich exploration of passion, torment, war, and loss always has something new to say in a classic tale where love transcends everything.
Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presented Verdi and Ghislanzoni’s stunning Italian opera, Aida for one gala benefit performance during Veteran’s Day weekend on Sunday, November 10 at 3PM at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. All funds raised benefited Boston Lyric Opera’s education, youth and community programs. Click here for more information.