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A Delicate Balance
GIUSEPPE PENNISI has mixed feelings about
'Aida' at the Baths of Caracalla
Verdi's Aida is one of the most performed operas, especially in the summer and in large open-air theatres. It lends itself as a colossal production, especially due to the Triumphal March, the ballet and the outstanding concertato at the end of the second act. Since 1937, Rome's Teatro dell'Opera has had a summer season in the breath-taking ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. Aida has been a standing feature of such summer seasons: on 2 August 2011, the fiftieth production of the opera, especially tailored to the huge stage, was unveiled, and a book was being sold with photographs of many of the previous stagings. It is very interesting to see how tastes have changed over the years...
Copyright © 10 August 2011
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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