Review of Verdi: Aida (Martínez)

Introduction

Opera has this image problem, people think that it`s snobby. I used to think this too until I just listened to the music and the singing; some of it is good, even if you don`t understand the words. Aida is a very simple story and goes like this:

Act I
Radames wants to become a General in the Egyptian army and marry Aida, but Amneris, the Egyptian King`s daughter fancies the pants off Radames.

Act II
Radames and the Egyptian army return triumphantly from war with Aida`s father, the King of Ethiopia, in captivity.

Act III
Aida whispers a few sweet nothings into Radames` ear and persuades him to betray the Egyptian army. He does, but consumed by guilt, he turns himself in to the Egyptian priests.

Act IV
The priest punishes Radames by burying him in a tomb. Princess Amneris weeps at his tomb. Unbeknowst to anyone, Aida was hiding in the tomb and reveals herself to Radames where they sing a love duet and die together.

The opera is broken down into four acts, two on each disc.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer, Aida looks vibrant. Detail is quite good and colours are well balanced, but the picture does look a little bit soft and has some very fine grain too. The costumes and sets are beautiful, which perfectly evokes the Egyptian period. Note that this is an NTSC region 0 DVD.

Audio

There are just two soundtracks on the disc: DTS 5.1 and LPCM 2-channel sound. If you want multi-channel sound, make sure you have a DTS decoder. There`s a huge difference between the 5.1 and plain stereo tracks here with DTS providing a very wide and dynamic sound stage. Sound quality is good though there`s little use of the surrounds except for some ambience; LFE too is somewhat sparse. I suppose this is okay seeing that all the action takes place on a stage in front of you. Dialogue is clear and bright from the centre and I couldn`t hear any audio problems.

Features

Easy to navigate static menus with a few extras:

• Cast Gallery - A collection of stills of the main cast.

• Set Gallery - A collection of stills of the beautiful sets.

• Documentary Feature (widescreen enhanced) (10:27) - This featurette, rather than documentary, gives us a little background on the Spanish opera house, the scenic artists, various singers,

• Synopsis - This is the place for those unfamiliar with the opera to get a rundown of what happens in the story. It works well and makes the opera all the more interesting.

• Booklet - Enclosed in the package is a 30-page booklet which has the article, "An Idea Reborn: the settings for the 1945 production of Aida". This is in English and French. This is only 4-pages and makes for interesting background to this production.

There are large, clear English subtitles.

Conclusion

Opera is still considered an elitist pre-occupation. At least that`s the impression I always got from watching Frasier and checking out ticket prices for the Royal Opera House. In addition, the lack of subtitles and the pause key is another strike against it. That said, I really enjoyed this DVD opera as it has subtitles and a stop button. Moreover, I liked the way the story unfolded in bite-sized 45-minute chunks. The story is simple enough to follow, so this leaves the characters/singers to lead the way and they do a good job against some wonderfully painted scenery. There`s plenty of drama to keep you hooked and Verdi`s wonderful score is just that, especially in DTS.

The costume and production design are good and the overall quality of the show is very good. Despite the niggling video transfer and average extras, it does have a well-produced DTS soundtrack and this helps Aida to entertain. The music is strong, as is the singing. The slow pace of the story though can make the whole affair feel long, especially if you want to play 186-minutes in one sitting. It`s much better to watch complete acts.

If, like me, you`re still only just putting a toe in the water when it comes to opera, you`ll find that Aida is a nice introduction.