Again, the English National Opera made me proud to be a vocal major as Luke got me a ticket to see their opening night of Aida. I've seen Elton and Tim's version twice and thought I knew the story quite well, but the opera has it's differences, besides just the singing and music.
First off, Aida is already an Egyptian captive as the audience enters the story. Also, unlike the musical, Amneris, the Egyptian princess, despises Aida from the beginning and eventually hates her for stealing Radames.
In my opinion, this opera should be called Radames, as the story of the opera mostly revolves around him not Aida. All the major choral numbers are based around his actions. Once he's named the leader of the Egyptian army about 30 odd men join him on stage to shout "Battle, Battle Battle," in a rousing musical number.
Another scene is when Radames defeats the Ethiopians (in the musical version they are the Nubians). There is a huge Egyptian celebration upon his return. Composer Giuseppe Verdi writes in a lengthy music interlude which in this performance was filled with acrobats, dancers, and an artsy nylon elephant that Radames rides to glory.
SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen any version of Aida, stop here.
Probably the most intense scene in the show takes place behind a stage-sized jail door with the Egyptian eye dominating the center. There is enough room between the bars to see some incredible lighting which allows the audience to see the 30 some priests standing around the imprisoned Radames as they decide his fate as a traitor. Amneris waits outside the bars until they are lifted to take Radames to his death sentence.
And finally, Aida and Radames are not buried together like the semi-happy ending in the musical. Rather Radames is lowered alive into his tomb and finds Aida waiting for him as she snuck in to be with him until their deaths. How romantic!
This time, my friend Kim made it on the "opening night reactions" video
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