ODM OPENS SEASON WITH WELL-AGED AIDA
Drama propelled by extended duets, which were at heart of performance
“Has the goddess Isis been consulted?” Radames asks Ramfis in the first minutes of Aida. Surely the Egyptian deity would not deny the Opéra de Montréal the right to open its season with this grandly popular piece after an absence of a decade.
Yes, Aida is a standard, but standards are standards for a reason, as this robustly sung performance in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier made clear on Saturday night.
Most of the principals were Slavic imports of the type that now dominate Verdi casting worldwide. In the title role we had Anna Markarova, a soprano of broad sound, stable highs and no diction to speak of. With basic acting she presented a believable portrait of the enslaved Ethiopian princess divided between love and patriotism.
Opposite her was the Bulgarian tenor Kamen Chanev as Radames. He was in rough form in Celeste Aida – the final B flat belted out at a steely fortissimo rather than quietly, as Verdi specifies – but found his focus thereafter.
It is not uncommon for Amneris, the volatile Egyptian princess who loves Radames at least as ardently as Aida, to make the biggest impression of all. So it was on this occasion, owing to the services of mezzo/contralto (as she was officially designated in the program) Olesya Petrova, a vivid vocalist at all volumes.
Best of the singing actors was the veteran Canadian baritone Gregory Dahl as Amonasro, who persuades his reluctant daughter Aida to forgo love for patriotic duty. His climactic accusation that she is nothing but a slave — la schiava! — was perhaps the most chilling of the evening’s many moments of interpersonal melodrama.
Canadian Phillip Ens as Ramfis and his fellow bass Anatoli Sivko as the King did their dark duty but there was more pleasure forthcoming from the strikingly expressive work of soprano Myriam LeBlanc in the supporting role of the High Priestess. Her fellow member of the Atelier program, tenor Keven Geddes, made an honourable appearance as the Messenger.
Behind them all was the OdM Chorus as prepared by Claude Webster, which made stalwart sounds during the Triumphal March. Not that the soft magic of the female slaves in Amneris’s apartments should be overlooked.
In the popular imagination Aida is a sequence of grand choruses, but what really propels the drama are the extended duets, and these were at the heart of the success of this performance. After a sleepy Act 1 that I shall ascribe to first-night-itis, the veteran maestro Paul Nadler led
a lyrical and well-paced performance.
The Orchestre Métropolitain was in good form. The sweet oboe obbligato of O patria mia and the relaxed (rather than pushy) sound of the principal trumpet were worth a mention. Lucidly interlocking strings at the start suggested that Nadler numbers among the few conductors who think overtures and preludes are worth rehearsing.
There is little to say about François Racine’s redoubtably conservative direction, which often found the principals lined up oratorio-style at the stage apron. Since I have never been satisfied with the Triumphal March — usually chaotic rather than orderly — I shall stop arriving with expectations.
Choreography by Noëlle-Émilie Desbiens was fluid and interesting. It must be said that the traditional production by Claude Girard and Bernard Uzan, with its modular statues and monoliths, has aged well. It would be nice if on its next appearance the backdrop could be modified to offer the eye a little more depth.