Verdi: Aida [Blu-ray] [2011]

Having seen Decca's appalling blu-ray of Turandot my expectations of this Aida were lowered. They needn't have been because it is wonderful.

The legendary Zefferelli set is tasteful, the camera and editing is unobtrusive, video quality is excellent, sound engineering and audio quality top notch.

As for the performers, the orchestra under Gatti sounds dynamic and well paced throughout. Urmana as Aida performs far better than she did in the vulgar Milan production. Botha sings a bold Radames from beginning to end. Indeed, everyone in the cast seems to be confident, relaxed and on top of their roles.

And then there is Dolores Zajick. Now at her maturity she would be forgiven for not performing as well as she did with Domingo and Milo. No forgiveness necessary as she is every inch the Amneris she was 20 years ago, and some!

This performance does not topple Levine's as the definitive Aida but it comes within a hair's breadth.

And yes, the bloody Met audience interrupt the final G-flat "Pace" as always. But I guess they paid a lot more than I did for the privilege.

Edit: A friend re-watched with me and commented on Urmana's performance lacking dynamism. Fair observation but I think this is very much an Amneris led performance. It's not uncommon for Amneris to upstage Aida and in this case it is performed on that premise. Here Zajick fleshes out the lovesick Amneris more than any production I have seen.

Although there is an intimate and tragic love story at its heart, Aida is set against the exotic background of the Egypt of the Pharaohs, and is full of patriotic, nationalistic sentiments, as the Egyptian army prepare to go to war to fight off a revolt by the Ethiopians. It's a perfect subject, in other words, for Verdi, and it was undoubtedly the nature of the storyline, much more than any commission for the new opera house in Cairo (which he repeatedly refused) or the grand occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal, that encouraged him to return to opera composition in 1871, and he would return in style with a magnificent work.

Considering its origins and its setting - whether it was composed for a grand occasion or not - Verdi's Aida is appropriately stately in its expressions of nationalistic pride and identity, with extravagant marches, battle hymns, ceremonial processions and dances. There's no point in doing Aida in a minimalist style, as Robert Wilson has done in the past (although it's certainly interesting to see something different attempted) - this is an opera that just calls out for a grand scale production. If you haven't got a stage the size of the Arena di Verona, and a director like Franco Zeffirelli to fill it, the nearest grand, traditionally staged Aida you are going to find is this Sonja Frisell production - now over twenty years old - for the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

It's a big production in every respect - and yes, I include the size of the singers in this - with towering temples, the stage filled with chorus, troops, dancers and well-tanned, bare-chested slaves, even horses and chariots, all arranged in grand ceremonial processions and formations. It's unfortunately a little too static - an impressive spectacle even if it is a little bit kitsch, but not much thought has been put into the interaction between the main players. They just walk on in most cases, sing their part, and walk back off again. But, this is what you expect of an Aida production - particularly a traditional one at the Met - and really, you'd feel somewhat short-changed if it didn't have all the other bells and whistles (and trumpets).

You won't feel short-changed by the singers here either. Johan Botha is one of the finest tenors in the world, a great Wagnerian heldentenor, which serves him in good stead for this particular Verdi opera. I don't know about his acting ability - there's not much required here of Ramadès - but he has an ability to fill his roles with life, principally through the wonderful warmth of tone of his voice. Violeta Urmana is the Verdian soprano of choice at the moment, and she is fine singing the role of Aida, if again there are not any real acting demands placed on her. Dolora Zajick is an experienced Amneris and sings the role well, but does unfortunately look constipated when singing (sorry, but she does). The final duet notwithstanding, Act IV of Aida belongs to Amneris however, Verdi giving her character real depth and human passion, and Dolora Zajick launches into it with relish, making perhaps the strongest impression on the whole production, which is a little lacking in energy elsewhere.

Recorded live for worldwide broadcast in 2009 for the Met's Live in HD programme, the production looks fantastic in High Definition, is colourful and well-lit. The audio mixes are in PCM Stereo and DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 and, allowing for one or two minor sound issues with the live mix which is a little bit echoing in places, they both sound fine, the surround in particular dispersing the choral singing well. Extras on the BD include edited-down interviews (I'd have been happy to listen to much more of this) conducted by Renée Fleming with the cast and extras.

This is a Blu-ray disc and as such should be produced to ensure a realistic visual account of the opera. The picture and sound quality are generally good although the focus seemed soft quite often. The main issue is the three main cast members all of whom are so grossly over-weight none of them could hope to perform the tasks intended in real life. Radames would die of a heart attack before he got anywhere near the enemy. I will not comment further about the ladies. This may not matter for a single performance in the opera house or on CD but for repeat viewing on Blu-ray I want singers who look the part.

I found the ballet sequences unsatisfying - over-muscular, rather modern choreography and just not at all evocative of ancient Egypt. I was not over-impressed with the grand march staging either. It looked tired. I cannot recommend this release on visual grounds which is a shame as the only other Aida on Blu-ray is also unsatisfactory.