Verdi’s "Aida", called by music historians the encyclopedia of Egyptian passion which the composer was commissioned to write by the Egyptian government to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal and Cairo Opera House, returned to Kyiv after almost two decades, in a year marking Verdi’s 185th jubilee and the 135th anniversary of the opera’s premiere. Incidentally, it was staged on the opening night of the State Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theater back in 1923. This is the opera’s seventh appearance in Kyiv.
Kyiv’s theatergoers were delighted to see National Opera Head Conductor Volodymyr Kozhukhar in the orchestra pit that night. Actually, the orchestra and the choir directed by Lev Venedyktov proved the key performers. Of late, the Opera’s repertoire has been highlighted by two spectacular attainments, "Aida" and "Lohengrin," with the orchestra at its creative best.
Debating who is more important in an operatic performance, conductor or stage director, is useless, for each has very important functions, but the director’s work seems more conspicuous than the conductor’s interpretation nuances. One wants to say about the production by Dmytro Hnatyuk that last season the Bolshoi Theater artistic director Vladimir Vasilyev also staged Verdi’s "La Traviata." He did it on the scope of a gala. As though by previous agreement, Russian critics tagged it "European repair" (i.e., expensive repair practiced by "new Russians" buying old structures and turning them into small castles or villas packed with most modern amenities, costing fortunes, but more often than not showing poor architectural style). In our case, too, "Aida" was more than an analogy, but also the style in which the National Opera’s chief stage director has worked long and fruitfully. However, his our-party-knows-best approach is not only inappropriate. It is inherently alien to the composition’s spirit, for "Aida" marked a turning point in Verdi’s musical outlook. In this opera he seemed to have caught the Wagnerian virus.
On the day of the premiere Svitlana Dobronravova (Aida) was sick. Heroically, she made it to the Opera and on stage, but did what Rossini once called "vocal corruption," making the most of her voice and enviable musical talent, to the detriment of dramatization. Assuming that professionalism is an ability to show the least of one’s shortcomings and most of the advantages, Liudmila Yurchenko as Amneris did a spectacular job. Oleksandr Vostriakov (Radames) showed from the very first chord that his party was extremely sophisticated. But despite the composer’s numerous knavish tricks, the actor plunged into the marathon and showed an extraordinary athletic skill, making it to the finish line. There were two undoubtedly successful impersonations. Roman Maiboroda’s Ethiopian King Amonasro, tempestuously dramatic and vocally faultless. His every appearance on the stage was unmatched. And Oleksandr Hurets’s Messenger, a captivating operatic portrayal, although without too much dramatic on dramatization. A strong dramatic tenor, with every chance of getting lead roles before long.
The production designers, Tadei and Mykhailo Ryndzakov, made the stage look strange, reminding one of the computer game, Doom. The spatial composition, of course, could not convey the atmosphere of ancient Egypt and Pharaonic architecture. The reason could be an attempt at originality, but most likely the lack of funds (an Egyptian "Aida" in 1994 cost $3.5 million).
Diligently, the National Opera gives us a monumental premiere every season. However, after so many renditions similar in spirit, the latest, even though with excellent music, cannot be regarded other than a routine sequel, made using the same mold, and therefore of little aesthetic value. As though referring to precisely this rendition, Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky said once, "There is no use discussing this opera... After a medal or coin is minted and described in detail, who will bother to describe any other medal or coin from the same die?"
Photo by Oleksy Stasenko, The Day:
Handcuffs cannot prevent Roman Maiboroda from brilliantly performing the role of Amonasro. Isn’t this freedom from routine?







