ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>AIDA</TITLE> <META content="text/html; charset=windows-1252" http-equiv=Content-Type> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-20008716-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); </script> </HEAD> <BODY><br><br><FONT face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=2> <DIV align=center> <CENTER> <TABLE border="0" cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=0 width=800> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align="left" valign="middle" colSpan=2 height=50><FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=6>AIDA</A><BR><FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=3><I>Giuseppe Verdi / Antonio Ghislanzoni</I><BR><FONT color=#2E02B1 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=5><B>Lyric Opera of Kansas City</B><br><FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=3>September 2007<br><br><TR><TD colspan=2><img src="img/aida/aidatitle2.jpg"><br><br></td></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border="0" cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=0 width=800> <TBODY> <TR><TD><I>Conductor</I></TD><TD>Ward Holmquist</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Director</I></TD><TD>Thaddeus Strassberger</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Scenic Design</I></TD><TD>Thaddeus Strassberger</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Costume Design</I></TD><TD>Mary Traylor</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Lighting Design</I></TD><TD>Aaron Black</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I><br></I></TD><TD><br></TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Aida</I></TD><TD>Karen Slack</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Amneris</I></TD><TD>Jane Dutton</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Radames</I></TD><TD>Arnold Rawls</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Amonasro</I></TD><TD>Luis Ledesma</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Ramphis</I></TD><TD>Luiz Ottavio Faria</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>The King</I></TD><TD>David Soxman</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Priestess</I></TD><TD>Regina Grimaldi</TD></TR> <TR><TD><I>Messenger</I></TD><TD>James Plante</TD></TR> </TABLE> <TABLE border="0" height=280 width=700> <TBODY> <TR><TD colspan="2"> <FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=3> <B><p>REVIEW (Excerpt) </B>Kansas City Star, Monday, September 16, 2007 <p> <FONT color=#FF6633 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=5><B> Lyric s  Aida makes for a night to remember</B><p> <FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=3> <B>AIDA</B> at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City<p> <FONT color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=2> The Lyric Opera of Kansas City s  Aida is not just a superb operatic production, it s theater on a level you seldom see on any Kansas City stage, musical or otherwise.<p>On Saturday at the Lyric Theatre the oddball version that New York-based director Thaddeus Strassberger designed and directed kicked off the Lyric s 50th-anniversary celebration, and it augured well for the artistic future of this ever-improving company.<p>It featured capital soloists, a cast of nearly 150, an orchestra in fine form and commanding, richly inflected musical direction from Ward Holmquist. It also included a gory human sacrifice and the first-ever glimpse of female breasts in the Lyric s chaste half-century.<p>In keeping with the Egyptian theme, opening night also included live camels outside the theater and a post-opera reception with live African drumming.<p>Strassberger s conceptually spare, visually fascinating set design began with four squared prosceniums framing an upstage drop painted with pale sand dunes, and a sheer scrim downstage allowing for dreamlike scene-openings. Amneris apartment included a rectangular bath that in the Nile scene lengthened to become the river itself.<p>In Act 3 a huge astrological dial rose like a giant moon. Instead of a tomb in Act 4 we got a massive stone monolith descending perilously close to Amneris head... Aaron Black s brilliant lighting was essential to the look of the show, with potent details like the rippling Nile water casting giant reflections onto the walls.<p> -- Paul Horsley<p> </TD></TR> </TABLE> <TABLE border="0" width=700><TBODY> <tr><td> </td><td align="right"><FONT color=#33CC66 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size=5><A HREF="aida2.html"><br>Click here to view inspiration images >>> </A></td></tr></FONT> </TBODY> </TABLE> <TABLE border="0" width=800> <TBODY> <TR><TD colspan="2"> <font color=#000000 face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"size="5"><B>Scenic Renderings<font size="2"></B></TD></TR></font> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render1 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Preshow</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render2 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Prelude</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render3 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Royal Tent</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render4 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Temple of Ptah</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render5 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Amneris' Palace</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render6 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Triumphal March</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida6.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida7.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render7 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Triumphal March</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida8.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render8 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Banks of the Nile</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida5.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida4.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render9 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Judgement</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida3.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render10 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Entrance of the Tomb</B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/aida1.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B> </B></TD></TR> <TR><TD><img src="img/aida/render11 copy.jpg"></a></td><td valign="bottom"><B>Radames' Death</B></TD></TR> </table> </CENTER></DIV></BODY></HTML>