Aida [VHS]

The Nubian Slaves Dance in Act II Scene I was the lamest I've ever seen. A group of kids were given the choreographic directions to run onto the set, meander in random directions, and then scurry off like roaches running under a refrigerator when the kitchen lights are switched on. Perhaps they were distracted by the gratuitous nudity contained in this scene.

The Grand March wasn't particularly grand nor much of a march. Mostly it consisted of shuffling impressive scenery in the background and raising obelisks which seemed more likely to induce motion sickness than awe. The ballet that occurred in this scene resembled pigeons waiting in a public square for bread crumbs. In most of the performances of Aida that I've seen Radames makes his entry in Act II on a chariot being drawn by real horses but Luciano Pavarotti was toted on by people power. And, of course, some legendary productions featured elephants and giraffes. Even though the livestock and dancers had the day off I would still highly recommend this DVD to anyone.

First, the principles were magnificent. The promo states that the Milan audience gave Pavarotti a 2 minute ovation after "Celeste Aida". He certainly deserved it with a masterful performance that you would expect from the biggest name in opera. He alone is worth the purchase. Maria Chiara gave a solid performance as Aida but the performer that had me jumping out of my Lazy Boy and wildly applauding the TV set was Ghena Dimitrova as Amneris. She stole the whole show in the Judgment scene.

Second, you can't beat this price. The DVD costs less than all but the bargain basement CDs. You get both audio and video on one disk. With CDs you've got at least 2 and as many as 4 disks to feed into the machine.

In summary, all of the principles gave superb performances with masterful singing and acting and first rate orchestral accompaniment under the direction of Lorin Mazel. But if you want to see the Grand March and the dance sequences as they should be delivered get the Met production with Levine and Domingo: That's Grand Opera. If only it were available on DVD.

I wish there were more operas on DVD. But there is such a heavy investment in Laser Disks that we'll have to wait. When I saw my first opera on DVD I gave up on hub caps.

Many people criticize the slave dance (Act II) with nudity, I agree. The triumphant scence is obscured with gigantic props, with made the stage too crowded and clumpsy - La Scala's stage is just simply not big enough.

There are occasional noises from back stage and the audience, but it may be inevitable.

Overall, this is a time masterpiece, a good buy.