The price of a homeland: ‘Aida’ hits the Silver Screen during wartime

Aida, Verdi’s iconic depiction of war, politics, and state-backed religion – set against the backdrop of Ancient Egypt and its clash with Ethiopia – will hit cinemas across the country in June.

Shown during the current season of Aria in the Cinema, operated by content company EllaComm, this 2022 Dresden State Opera production will mark five years under content editor Merav Barak.

“One innovative aspect of this production,” Barak told The Jerusalem Post, “is that those performing the Ethiopian roles in it are not in blackface.”

A retelling

Aida, the title role, is an Ethiopian slave-girl. She serves Egyptian princess Amneris and longs for Radames, a dashing Egyptian military hero. The war between Egypt and Ethiopia forces her to look into her soul – and take a stand.

For over a hundred years, the soprano inhabiting the role was expected to darken her skin to look the part. This practice is currently under reexamination following Tamara Wilson refusing to do so for the 2019 Arena di Verona production, a move that split the opera world.

Three years after Wilson, Anna Netrebko insisted that wearing blackface is exactly what Verdi had in mind for his opera and did just that at Arena di Verona. Those in favor of historically accurate opera productions – this means the history of the production, not the time period in which it is set – agree with her view.

In this production, staged by Katharina Thalbach, Aida is performed by Krassimira Stoyanova, with no darkening make-up. The role of Amneris is sung by Oksana Volkova. This similarity of appearances between the two women, an Egyptian princess and her Ethiopian servant who is also a princess-in-disguise, lends their rivalry over the heart of Radames (Francesco Meli) an extra dimension.

“We bring an offering of all that is taking place in the larger opera world,” Barak shared. “The audience, too, is split between those who want to watch current, bold, retellings of great operas,” like the 2019 screening of Aida as directed by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, “and those who feel uneasy with this trend and prefer more classical adaptations.”

When Neshat directed it, Barak told the Post, she turned the stage around during the Triumphal March scene, exposing the frightened Ethiopian war captives and the bitter truth of war. Whenever a nation wins, Verdi clearly tells us, another nation loses. “O patria mia,” Aida sings, “Oh My Homeland,” during this powerful moral play about the sacrifices of national honor and its costs.

High-value production

THIS PRODUCTION, with its golden stage design, pyramids and Egyptian monuments created by Ezio Toffolutti, will delight even the most conservative opera goer.

“One of the greatest strengths films have is that they offer an experience of togetherness”, EllaComm SVP Business Development Sapir Ella told the Post: “sharing an experience with others and discussing it with them later, something which is impossible to do during home-viewing.”

While this opera production, and many more, are freely available online, Barak and Ella pointed to the many advantages of going to the movies to enjoy opera.

There are Hebrew and English subtitles, the sound quality is better, and the Silver Screen offers a rich visual experience on an unparalleled scale, they suggested.

While a live opera performance can cost hundreds of shekels at the Israeli Opera, a filmed opera shown at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque costs 85 NIS per ticket, making it much more affordable for young people, Barak said.

“Numbers don’t lie,” Barak told the Post. “People like going out. When we screen family-oriented productions like The Magic Flute, I notice many viewers bring their grandchildren as well.”

As she sees it, online content only adds to the cinematic experience. Viewers who love a specific production, she reasoned, are able to find an online recording of it and enjoy it again.

“Opera always meets the viewer and what she or he brings to the encounter,” Sapir told the Post, noting how she was deeply moved after watching a production of Carmen during the height of the Me Too movement.

Thanks to a partnership with Cinema City, she shared, Aria in the Cinema will soon be offered to audiences in Poland and Bulgaria.

Aida will be offered as part of the Aria in the Cinema season on Monday, June 3, at 7 p.m. at Tel Aviv Cinematheque, with Barak offering a 30-minute introductory lecture in Hebrew before the screening. Shown in Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles. 5 HaArbaa Street. Call *6876 to book. 

Aida will be screened at all Yes Planet Movie Halls across the country on Monday, June 10: check www.planetcinema.co.il for more. The opera will also be screened at the Jerusalem Theater on Sunday, June 23, at 6 p.m. NIS 79 per ticket. 20 Marcus Street. Call (02) 560-5755 to book.