Opera

Sebastian Ballester

Art 211: Opera

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi

            I’ll be the first to say that I’m not the biggest opera fan, or anything in the “musical” category for that matter. I just feel like they’re very fake and not believable. This was always very interesting to me being that I was a music major at one time, but that’s another topic for another paper. I have much respect for what they do, but just not a big fan. Needless to say, I haven’t seen many operas in my short lifetime so it’s hard for me to judge Aida on its use of technology and multimedia because I don’t have much to compare it to, but I will try. I will also give my opinion on how it could be re-made into today’s culture and update it’s use of technology.

            When I watched Aida I tried to put myself in the world of when it was first produced to get a better understanding and appreciation of the use of technology, but I rarely saw anything that would surprise or stand out to me. I think the most prevalent thing was the set design. Set in ancient Egypt (and premiered in Cairo), the backgrounds were full of beautifully painted hieroglyphics and wonderful representations of carved stone doorways, walls and pillars. Whether the scene was set outside of a palace or inside a chamber of a temple, you could feel that the buildings were as big and beautiful as they make them out to be in writings of ancient Egypt.

            The costumes were another thing that really helped put you in the time and setting of the opera. Beautifully detailed helmets and armor worn by the men made them all bigger than life and also helped me keep track of the characters, which at times in the beginning looked similar. Aida’s hair was unmistakable, no matter what she wore. One of my favorite parts was when the priestesses presented Radames with the sacred armor and statue that would help him in battle. It was very mystical and seemed very accurate to what would have really happened, even though none of the people involved actually saw it in real life.

            Nothing that I saw, however, really stood out to me as being advanced technology for the time. There was no smoke or mirrors, no lights or flash, not even any moving parts (besides one set that came down from the ceiling of the stage to show Radames and Aida locked away together in a chamber underneath). I think even if this was produced 100 years before, in 1771, it would still be pretty tame in my eyes. Maybe it doesn’t need it though. Maybe it would take away from the classic love story of sacrifice that is the lifeblood of Aida.

            That story is the same blood that gave life to many of today’s best works as well. One kept popping into my head, even though I’ve never seen it before. That was the recent blockbuster hit “Avatar.” I know that the basic story is about a human male who falls in love with an alien woman of the same tribe of creatures the humans are invading. I don’t know if “Avatar” is as complicated of a story as Aida, which includes an invading army and two lovers caught on either side of the war, but it sure is close.

            With today’s technology in mind, I think Aida would make a great movie, opera/musical or not. There could be great battle scenes added in between Radames leaving and coming back. Even just expanding on the settings and costumes would be enough to keep the CGI guys on their toes. Scene Two, Act Two, where they are celebrating victory over the Ethiopians and the return of the hero Radames, could be a very elaborate parade though the streets of ancient Egypt with tons of people and on-lookers cheering and reveling in the spoils of victory.

            Even updating the story to today’s times wouldn’t be hard. Instead of Egyptians and Ethiopians, it could be Bloods and Crips, or the US and any of the Middle Eastern countries we’ve invaded. What would be even more interesting would be to make Radames an Israeli commander and Aida a royal Palestinian woman. With such a simple and classic story at it’s heart, Aida is not hard to adapt.