Sarasota Opera's Aida

Photo by Rod Millington

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Sarasota, Florida to observe and write about Sarasota Opera's final productions in a 28-year-long-effort to perform every opera that Verdi wrote (27) plus the alternative variations (6) and every song, choral work, orchestral work, piano piece, chamber work, you-name-it piece (including fragments). Because of other writing assignments, I'm just now getting around to writing a review of the company's production of "Aida," which took place on March 19th.

The cast was exceptional across the board with Michelle Johnson in the title role, Jonathan Burton as her lover Radames, Leann Sandel-Pantaleo as Aida's rival Amneris, and Marco Nisticò in the role of Aida's father Amonasro. Johnson displayed a strong, clear tone that revealed the emotional conflicts of her character's situation. Burton held forth with terrific heroic singing that matched up well with Johnson. Sandel-Pantaleo almost stole the show, becoming completely caught up in the frustration of Amneris in her quest of win the love of Radames.

Photo by Rod Millington

As Ramfis,Young Bok Kim conveyed ample gravitas chief priest, and Jeffrey Beruan, a graduate of Portland Opera's young artist program, created a stalwart King of the Egyptians. The Sarasota Opera Chorus, expertly prepared by Roger L. Bingaman, kept the energy high with superb contributions throughout the performance. Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi paced the enterprise very well.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Sarasota Opera house seats 1,100; so the singers don't have to strain their vocal chords to the limits in order to be heard. But with a smaller house comes a smaller stage area, which could cause traffic jams especially with productions like "Aida" that require a lot of singers for the big scenes. Stage director Stephanie Sundine did an outstanding job of keeping all of the bodies in a flow was natural (including six on stage performing trumpeters during the triumphal march scene) and made the story easy to follow. Choreographer Miro Magloire deftly managed the big scene that involved the march of the Ethiopian slaves and a ballet at the same. Despite the limited space, onstage trumpets were used to great effect.

Photo by Rod Millington

The scenic designs of David P. Gordon evoked an ancient Egyptian wonderland of temples and columns with a hodgepodge of hieroglyphics and human figures. Traditional costumes by Howard Tsvi Kaplan perfectly matched with the sets, and all was lit admirably by designer Ken Yunker.

Photo by Rod Millington