[Met Performance] CID:127070



Aida
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, December 2, 1939




Aida (435)
Giuseppe Verdi | Antonio Ghislanzoni
Aida
Zinka Milanov

Radamès
Arthur Carron

Amneris
Bruna Castagna

Amonasro
Richard Bonelli

Ramfis
Norman Cordon

King
John Gurney

Messenger
Lodovico Oliviero

Priestess
Thelma Votipka

Dance
Ruthanna Boris

Dance
Grant Mouradoff


Conductor
Ettore Panizza


Director
Désiré Defrère

Set Designer
Angelo Parravicini

Costume Designer
Ethel Fox

Choreographer
Boris Romanoff





Angelo Parravicini was not credited as set designer, though the scenery was his, repainted by Joseph Novak.
Aida received seven performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Jerome D. Bohm in the Herald Tribune

Season's Debut Made by "Aida" At Metropolitan

Bonelli and Bruna Castagna Are Heard in Principal Roles in Opera by Verdi

As has been so often the case in presentations of this opera in recent seasons, the most distinctive singing was vouchsafed by Miss Castagna, who brought to her delineation of the Egyptian Princess a plausible histrionism and her gorgeous contralto voice, which was projected with its customary effortlessness and evenness throughout the evening. Mr. Bonelli, with his voice, and his convincing characterization of the Ethiopian King, was the other singer in the cast whose work tarried on consistently high planes.

The Aida of Mme. Milanov is an exceedingly spotty impersonation. Occasional passages, such as the "Numi, pieta" were delivered with vibrant tones and some semblance of a vocal line, but for the most part the soprano's powerful voice was given forth in a spread manner, bringing with it hard, penetrating tones instead of the true brilliancy which would be hers could she learn to master the technical aspects of her art. As an actress she belongs decidedly to the semaphore school.

Nor did Mr. Carron make the best use of his admirable natural resources. Almost continual forcing vitiated the effectiveness of much of his singing and from the dramatic angle, his conception vies with Mme. Milanov's in ineptness. Messrs. Cordon and Gurney sang acceptably and Miss Votipka's fresh voice sounded well as it floated from the wings in the Priestess's music. Mr. Panizza conducted authoritatively and with considerable vitality; the chorus was heard to advantage in the Triumphal Scene and here too the ballet contributed its bit to the exhilaration of the act's close. A huge, demonstrative audience attended.



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