Aida

In Aida (produced for Summer Classics Festival – 2018 and 2019), the challenge was to experiment with psychological gestures in a grand spectacle of this paradoxical opera, where the intimate drama and expected display of a marvelous operatic parade are counterpointed to such extreme that staging it without betraying one or the other is almost impossible. Rigidly statuesque arrangement of performers-figures obviously represented the political and social regime, embellished with decorative all-in-gold ballet, and of course emphasized the convention of staging Aida. Nevertheless, that tradition was conceptually contrasted by distressed humanity of Aida and defeated hubris of Amneris in the final act, as well as the chorus that was physically present (or rather absent) only as choreographed compositions of – shadows.