The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

I saw my first opera during sophomore or junior year of high school, when I went to see Don Giovanni. That being said, I had some pre-conceived notions about the Met and the entire idea of an opera. In all honesty, I was expecting a very long performance, somewhat boring classical music, and very dramatic acting coming from the singers. Although I wasn’t impressed the first time I went to Lincoln Center, I was still excited about seeing an opera as a college student.

One thing that stood out to me was that I was wrong to expect tedious classical music. Aida turned out to be a marvelously written musical piece, and the orchestra was possibly my favorite aspect of Monday night, because the dramatic and, at times, powerful music was enough to keep me awake throughout the whole show, surprisingly (along with the Red Bull I brought). Another thing I enjoyed about Monday night was the stage the setting. Although we were basically in the last few rows (the height gave me vertigo every time I got up and made the mistake of looking down), the effort to make the stage look beautiful was apparent, and very cleverly done. It was definitely a grand opera. The costumes were amazing and went along with the stage design perfectly.

Of course, there were several things that bothered me. As a grand opera, it is expected to see a lot of decorations and people (back up singers?) on stage, but at times I thought it was over-done. Act II, when the victorious Egyptians are welcomed back and present their success to the pharaoh, is an example of this. Were the horses really necessary? Granted, they were probably some of the most interesting participants in Aida that night, but they seemed not to be used to being in the position they were in that night. I started feeling a bit nervous that the horses would kick or bite the people next to them. It was obvious that the two men were nervous too; after all, horses are not meant to be on stage. Overall, I thought the first half was more interesting than the second, as the second seemed to drag on for too long. As other people have noted, Aida took way too long to die, and the death of her and Radames wasn’t very dramatized. I always associate opera with dramatic ends, and Aida lacked it. The last thing that bothered me was the choice of actors, in particular Aida and her father. I find it hard to believe that they could not find a Black female soprano singer, and a Black male baritone… The spray tans were really bad.

I think I might have expected too much of Aida. The videos Jake showed us in class made me want to see some things done differently. Overall, I thought the actors lacked chemistry, some acts took too long, and there could have been a better choice of performers. It was not all that bad in general, but I think I would need some time to get used to operas.