English National Opera brings Verdi’s opera of duty, love and betrayal back to the stage, directed by Phelim McDermott. Here, Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews. Aida continues at London Coliseum until 2 December 2017.
The Guardian: ★★★ “There are some musical unevennesses as well, though the evening is blessed by a remarkable central performance from the American soprano Latonia Moore in the title role.”
The Stage: ★★★★ “Sometimes this Aida is so visually arresting that it’s hard to know where to look next: a benchmark for a spectacle if there ever was one.”
Markronan.com: “This production, though slightly overloaded with ideas, will doubtless be a keeper, and I loved the dance with silks.”
Bachtrack: ★★★★ “this credible new production is a considerable success”
Evening Standard: ★★★ “Despite the inertness on stage, Keri-Lynn Wilson conducted with enormous flair and empathy.”
The Times: ★★ “Drably staged, slackly conducted, patchily sung, this new production is just what the doctor didn’t order to open English National Opera’s new season.”
The Telegraph: ★★★ “The director Phelim McDermott and his designers Tom Pye and Kevin Pollard have signally failed to make the stiff classical drama come alive or even coherent.”
The FT: ★★★ “in this evening of mixed visual standards it is the ritualistic elements that work best.”
Express: ★★★★ “All in all, a great evening’s entertainment combining powerful music that we have often heard before with an eye-catchingly dramatic new production.”
Culture Whisper: ★★★ “Tom Pye’s grand set, Bruno Poet’s rich lighting and Basil Twist’s silk effects all heave ho strenuously: it feels, however, as though everyone is trying just a bit too hard. The last word in glamour is nonchalant, surely, not look-at-me.”
Lark Reviews: “Keri-Lynn Wilson conducted with considerable panache, her sensitivity towards the introspective scenes particularly impressive, and her sense of the sweep of the narrative always under control.”
MusicOMH: ★★★★ “Whatever one thinks of the Rhodes glitz, this ENO production is a basically straightforward presentation of Verdi’s opera, dramatically a little clunky but very convincing musically.”
