Actors prepare for the triumphal scene in the Mariinsky's production of "Aida."
Photo: Natasha Razina. (Large jpg - 34K)
One of the Mariinsky Theater's most ambitious projects in recent years -- Verdi's opera "Aida" -- will go ahead this week despite Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli's decision to quit the production.
Maestro director Zeffirelli, famous for his film productions of "Romeo and Juliet" and "La Traviata," was due to direct "Aida" but suddenly pulled out last week, nearly scuttling the entire project.
But Yuri Alexandrov, one of the Mariinsky's most experienced directors, told the St Petersburg Press that he is "confident" about his production.
Alexandrov said, "I spoke with Zeffirelli the other day on the phone and he said how much he had wanted to come and direct this production, but he said he is too busy.
"Of course he's an elderly man now but we have no quarrels with him. He said he was very sorry," continued Alexandrov.
The Mariinsky Opera's musical director Valery Giergiev came up with the idea to stage "Aida" -- one of the most lavish and extravagant productions in opera -- for the White Nights Festival.
Alexandrov said, "It's going to be a triumph. We're very excited about this project. We're using a cast of 450 and a choir of 120 which should make it one of the most grandiose operas seen here in recent years."
Giuseppe Verdi's four-act masterpiece, set in ancient Egypt, is to be sung in Italian which, according to Alexandrov, should present no difficulties for the all-Russian cast.
"I don't think they'll find it too difficult. After all, we've done operas in German, Italian and other languages, so singing in a foreign language is already quite normal," he said.
Alexandrov, who has been at the Mariinsky (formerly the Kirov) for 20 years, has wide experience in putting on vast productions. He has to his credit such successes as "Othello" and "The Marriage of Figaro," and did "Aida" at the Bolshoy Theater in Minsk and also in Spain in September 1994.
"I knew when Zeffirelli pulled out I just had to do it. I have had two weeks to put this together; it's been a lot of work and effort but I knew I could do it," said Alexandrov.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) began work on Aida in 1870 when the Khedive of Egypt commissioned it to celebrate the completion and opening of the Suez Canal.
It was finally staged for the first time at the Cairo Opera House at the end of 1871, but because of scandals and slights, Verdi himself was not present to see its premier.
For "Aida," perhaps one of his best-known masterpieces, Verdi wrote a detailed scenario. The Italian librettist and writer Antonio Ghizlanzoni (1824-1893) was brought in to turn it into verse, and its form was often dictated by the composer.
The 1871 premiere almost foundered in the same way that Saturday's performance faced cancellation two weeks ago. However, the story then was somewhat different.
Verdi fell out with his former friend and the most distinguished Italian conductor of the day, Angelo Mariani, over a proposed requiem mass in honor of Rossini, who died in 1867.
The project, which Verdi wanted to do, never got off the ground because of Mariani's lack of support. However Mariani later directed and arranged a commemoration to Rossini at Pesaro, his birthplace.
Verdi could never forgive an injury real or imagined, as evidenced by his lifelong hatred of the famed Italian opera house La Scala (Teatro alla Scala) in Milan and its audience. The row between Mariani and Verdi was made worse when the conductor refused to go to Cairo to direct the first performance of "Aida."
He pleaded illness, and it was true he was suffering from cancer which eventually killed him two years later in 1873. Insult was added to injury over a slanderous libel case in a Florentine paper that accused Verdi of stealing Mariani's mistress, Tereza Stolz, the soprano who was to be the outstanding "Aida" in the Italian performances of the opera.
Today's upsets over Zeffirelli's decision to pull out may seem less dramatic and sensational than the scandals which thwarted "Aida" the first time around, but nevertheless they caused real fears.
According to Denis Kalashnikov, Giergeev's spokesman, his decision to pull out at the 11th hour "nearly threw the whole project into jeopardy."
It is well known in musical circles here and abroad that the famous film director is picky and temperamental and it is believed he thought the Mariinsky could not stage "Aida" along the lines of La Scala's famous 1963 production.
It is also said that he was unhappy about the Mariinsky's decision to recreate the exact sets and costumes and simply announced that he did not believe the Mariinsky would be able to stage "Aida" for his own personal reasons.
Alexandrov remains calm about the whole affair. "Why not? It's always been in our repertoire along with other greats like 'Madame Butterfly' and 'Don Juan.'"
"I have tried to cut from the Italian version some of the grandiose scenes and am reinterpreting it my way using more Russian psychology. Of course its going to be on a grand scale like La Scala's production but not the same," said Alexandrov.
The Mariinsky has shipped in a number of specialists from Italy for the production. From the Opera di Roma comes Sergio La Stella to help conduct, and a number of experts on Italian text and pronunciation are coming from La Scala.
Sitting through the rehearsals last week convinced me that no expense has been spared on this production. The golden lighting, lavish sets which recreate the palaces at Karnark, and dazzling costumes are simply breathtaking and overwhelming at the same time.
From what I saw last week Zeffirelli, for all his command and experience, might just be proved wrong after all.
