[Met Tour] CID:23630



Aida
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Thu, February 22, 1900




Aida (52)
Giuseppe Verdi | Antonio Ghislanzoni
Aida
Emma Eames

Radamès
Julius Perotti

Amneris
Eleanor Broadfoot

Amonasro
Antonio Scotti

Ramfis
Edouard de Reszke

King
Herman Devries

Messenger
Roberto Vanni

Priestess
unknown

Dance
Catherine Bartho


Conductor
Enrico Bevignani





The program lists Bauermeister as the Priestess, which means that she would have had to depart from Philadelphia immediately after singing this role in order to perform Ortlinde in Die Walküre in New York. The company paybook omits all mention of Bauermeister singing the Priestess on this occasion, but she is credited for Ortlinde.

Review 1:

Review in a Philadelphia newspaper

THE OPERA SEASON: VERDI'S "AIDA."

If the "Ring of the Nibelungs" had been as well staged as was Verdi's "Aida" last night, what an excellent series of performances we should have had to chronicle. Many a time has Verdi's popular opera been given at the Academy in the course of the past few years, but never with such an admirable presentation of the essential details. The "special notice" interleaved with the programme announcing Edouard de Reszke in the place of Pol Plançon, and Miss Broadfoot in lieu of Mme. Mantelli, added to the known substitution of a new tenor as Rhadames, suggested the possibility of an incomplete performance. But, despite all difficulties, the opera was not only admirably sung, it was given a superb mounting.

Faults there were, as, for instance, the arrival in the third act of Amneris and Ramfis by?.. instead of by boat, but the dance of the slaves in the second, too often deputed to negro boys, and the ballet in the succeeding scene were unusually good. The march heralding the approach of Rhadames in the second act is fraught with difficulty, either the long Egyptian trumpets play out of tune or, in the case of their illumination, the music lacks color.

The difficulty was cleverly surmounted by introducing slide trumpets, which gave the requisite tone to the scene and yet defended the ears from the usual discordance. The substitution of M. Edouard de Reszke for M. Plançon, it is hardly necessary to say, made little difference; M. de Reszke was, throughout, admirable as the High Priest, Miss Broadfoot's Amneris was good, so far as it went, but it was for the most part inaudible. Sig, Perotti did excellently well as a substitute tenor. His voice shows signs of wear, but he sang artistically and in the concerted parts he did exceedingly well. Mme. Emma Eames is a good Aida and she sang "Oh Patria Mia" with a great deal of feeling. The role, however, is hardly one that can be counted among her best efforts. M. Scotti was magnificent as Amonasro and, as we said before, the opera was, despite all difficulties, exceedingly well given.



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