THE KOREA HERALD
September 22, 2004, Wednesday
‘Aida’ gets minimalist treatment
By Warren Lee
An upcoming production of “Aida” promises a fresh, new look for the
familiar operatic tale of love and war set in ancient Egypt.
The National Opera of Korea will present the Verdi classic at the
Seoul Arts Center next month in a production led by Dieter Kaegi,
with set and costume design by Bruno Schwengl.
Though Kaegi’s production is admittedly far from cutting-edge, it
does provide Korean audiences a glimpse of what a tried-and-true
classic would look like if it were to adopt a more progressive
approach to opera staging.
“In order for opera to have a future and bring in a new generation of
audiences, you can’t repeat the same thing over and over again,” said
Kaegi, who is artistic director of Opera Ireland in Dublin. “You need
a fresh visual concept, not just reproductions. Reproductions are
boring and they don’t work.”
Korean opera companies usually present only about two dozen or so of
the best known operas in the repertory, mostly by Verdi, Puccini,
Donizetti and other big-name Italian composers. And in staging these
operas, the elements that make up a production – such as set design,
direction, and costumes – usually come together to produce the most
realistic, and perhaps too literal, a depiction of the time and
setting in which the stories take place.
Productions of “Aida,” for example, tend toward recreating ancient
Egypt with sets that feature life-sized pyramids and a veritable army
of jewel-clad extras. But such lavish settings often detract from the
music and the story at hand, which paints the tragic struggle of a
slave woman torn between her love for a man and her native country.
“I think a lot of people have the wrong idea of what this opera is
about,” Kaegi says. “‘Aida’ is not about outdoor amphitheaters and
the Triumphal March scene,” he said, alluding to an “Aida” staged
last year at Jamsil Olympic Stadium which featured a 100-meter stage
and a procession of live elephants and camels that circled the
audience on the running track. “The plot gets lost in large
productions. If it’s too sumptuous, the story gets lost.”
He added: “Of course, ‘Aida’ has to be very visually strong, with
lots of striking images.”
Schwengl’s set design leaves much more to the imagination. Aside from
a lone centerpiece that changes with each scene, the stage remains
mostly empty and spacious, flanked by a large pyramid split in half.
In the third act, which takes place along the moonlit banks of the
Nile River, an islet is represented by the half-exposed face of a
large, Sphinx-like statue emerging above the water line, while a
large, white disc hovers only several meters off the ground in the
background.
The uncluttered set design, Kaegi explained, allows the audience to
focus more attention to the intimate, complex dynamics that color the
love between Aida and Radames. “We try to make the conflicts between
the characters more evident.”
While this version of “Aida” is not a radical departure from others,
it will nonetheless serve as a way for local audiences to dip their
toes into more unorthodox stagings of popular works. Delivering
something new and fresh is vital for the future artistic and
financial well-being of opera, said the National Opera’s artistic
director, Jung Eun-suk.
“I think we are past the point where we have to present ‘La
Traviata,’ ‘La Boheme,’ or ‘Aida’ in historical settings. The
audience can tell what the whole production is going to be like with
just one glimpse at the set, and I find that troublesome,” she said.
“Europe has always experimented with their operas, even if they are
classics. I think this is a way to make something familiar more
modern to Korean opera goers.”
“Aida’s” cast will include Armenian soprano Hasmik Papian, American
Adina Aaron, and Korean Lee Hwa-young who will alternate in the title
role with tenors Gegam Grigorian, Kim Nam-doo, and Ha Suk-bae singing
the part of Radames.
Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza will lead the Korean Symphony
Orchestra, the National Opera Chorus of Korea, and Euijeongbu City
Choir.
“Aida” will run Oct. 7-11 at the Seoul Arts Center Opera House,
located near the Nambu Bus Terminal Station, Subway Line No. 3, Exit
5. Weekday performances start at 7:30 p.m. Weekend performances start
at 4 p.m. Tickets start at 30,000 won and can be purchased at
1588-7890. For more information, call (02) 586-5282 or visit