Parlando: The COC Blog

I recently had the chance to look at some of the sets, costumes and props for Aida up close, and what I saw was intriguing. Because the production is new for the 2010/2011 season, we're keeping the details under wraps for now—but that doesn't mean I can't share a few hints!

1. This Amneris is a very glamourous and stylish woman.

2. A few of the costumes are appropriately macabre.

3. There will indeed be flora and fauna on stage–but not necessarily at the times you expect.

4. The Egyptian characters understand the art of hosting a good party.

From Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times:

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Metropolitan Opera regular Sondra Radvanovsky, who will be sharing the title role in Aida with Michele Capalbo at the COC this fall, has been scooping up accolades from all over the world for her stage performances, recitals, and new recital disc of Verdi arias. Some critics believe that she is one of the finest Verdi sopranos working today.

For example, here's Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle on Radvanovsky's Leonora: 

"Even if nothing else happens during the rest of the San Francisco Opera's 2009 fall season, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has already provided us with at least one extraordinary and indelible musical memory.

It came during the last act of Friday's potent season-opening performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore at the War Memorial Opera House, and even in the context of a generally strong evening, Radvanovsky's account of the aria 'D'amor sull'ali rosee' stood out as a beacon of probing musicality."

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