Regal, spiteful, yet deeply in love with Radames, Moore brought the tortured character of Amneris to life. Of particular note was Melody Moore’s Amneris. In time, her voice mellowed in the subtle sections, culminating in the beautiful and eloquent ‘O, terra, addio’. It was only early in Act I that she lacked conviction in the quieter passages, particularly in the lower range.
This was distinctly in evidence in his duets with Latonia Moore who was a riveting Aida, able to project her dramatic soprano over the orchestra and chorus: hers is a gale force instrument. With effortless singing that was rich in color, Thomas has the ability to tap deep reserves of humanity in both his voice and presence. Russell Thomas, Artist in Residence at LAO, brought his honeyed tenor to the role of Radames. Under the baton of James Conlon, a preeminent Verdi conductor, the diverse musical structure of Aida with its divine amalgam of moods and textures was brilliantly realized. While the set did little to focus the action, the magnificent cast and the Los Angeles Opera Chorus and Orchestra centered the drama with force, precision and lyrical magic. Set in a vague time and place, Michael Yeargan’s conception, as realized by artist RETNA (Marquis Duriel Lewis), was a pleasing jumble of pseudo hieroglyphs, strikingly lit by Mark McCullough. In Francesca Zambello’s staging of Aida, Verdi’s setting of a Europeanized imperial Egypt is replaced by a graphically confused though handsome backdrop of brushstrokes referencing an unknown alphabet. (JRo) Verdi’s Aida at the LA Opera © Cory WeaverĪrtistic designer – RETNA (Marquis Duriel Lewis) United States Verdi, Aida: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of LA Opera / James Conlon (conductor).
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