(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera)

On May 1, the Metropolitan Opera presented the second performance of its spring “Aida” run.

This run is special as it marks the return of Elīna Garanča to the Met for the first time in five years. It is incidentally, also her first Verdi role in the United States. Garanča made her role debut as Amneris at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2023 alongside Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, and from those performances showed command of the role. She later took it to Berlin, London, and Munich, garnering critical acclaim for her turn. Now the Met audience is getting a taste of the mezzo’s interpretation, and it is nothing short of sensational.

From the moment Garanča entered the stage, she was in command of every moment. Her princess could be confident, cold, capricious, and bored. But those are just a mask for her real emotions. In her internal moments, one could see a princess bursting with love and jealousy. Her opening interactions with Aida and Radamès showed a calculating princess attempting to hide her envy of Aida but was quickly replaced by anger. Then, in the opening of Act two, her boredom with court life was quickly replaced by passion as she sang the lines “Vieni, amor mio, m’inebria…” The mezzo’s princess could also be playful, as she displayed in the brief ballet, interacting with the dancers. But Garanča’s Amneris was ominous as she displayed in the duet with Aida. The mezzo had no qualms getting in Angel Blue’s face, staring her down with a simple look. It was hard to look away as you could never tell what she was going to do next. However, it was in her judgment scene that Garanča showed what a magnetic force of nature she is. The mezzo’s torment slowly devolved into desperation. Her duet with Brian Jagde showed Garanča in control of her movement as she attempted to convince her Radamès of repenting, but as she realized it was hopeless, the movements became more desperate and frantic. She threw herself to the ground during the “Ohimè! morir mi sento!” in an introspective moment that was touching, and with small gestures, you knew this Amneris was suffering. And in the final part of the scene, Garanča threw all caution to the wind and tore the stage down as she moved about in desperation, giving a full arc to Amneris so few are able to do.

Vocally, Garanča has all the goods. Her “Vieni, amor mio, m’inebria…” in Act two was filled with a lush, soft sound that emphasized the innocence and youth of her Amneris. The three times that this phrase was repeated, the mezzo embraced it with growing passion but never moved away from the piano dynamic. But that changed as she confronted Angel Blue’s Aida. Her voice took on an imperious timbre that displayed command over her stage partner. The “Ah! quel pallore, quel turbamento” emphasized the lower chest voice that was a great contrast to the brighter timbre of Blue and the sly and jealous nature of this Amneris. But as she discovered that Aida was her true rival, Garanča’s voice took on a booming sound with great power on “Trema, vil schiava! Spezza il tuo core.” The chest voice in “Del tuo destino arbitra io sono, D’odio e vendetta le furie ho in cor” became more guttural and resonant. The confidence in her demeanor increased throughout the scene, climaxing in a powerful “Vien…mi segui…e apprenderai.” That confidence was all the more evident in the triumphal scene as she sang with great sound in the choral sections.

In her Act four judgement scene, the mezzo brought tremendous depth to her voice. She opened her phrases “L’aborrita rivale a me sfuggia” with anguish but quickly turned that into an imposing sound at the start of her duet, “Già i sacerdoti adunansi.” Here she emphasized, once again, confidence and control. The lines had a contained legato line. But slowly, as the duet developed, Garanča’s voice brought out the desperation in Amneris’ character. The “Morire! Ah, tu dêi vivere!” displayed a pleading upper register while “Tutto darei per te” showcased a accented chest voice that emphasized the character’s pain. And as she rose to the climactic B flats in “Ora dal ciel si compirà,” Garanča held out the first with an expansive sound and powerful forte. That was only the start, as the second one on the repetition was held out even longer and with more accented force. In her monologue, “Ohimè! morir mi sento!,” Garanča sang the first lines to the ground with an expressive piano that was reminiscent of weeping. The voice never rose from a piannisimo, and it was just gorgeous how she phrased each moment in an internalized way. By the end of the monologue, it was just whispers that she cut off slowly with floated pianissimos. It was a breathtaking moment. And then in the final judgement, her “Ah, pietà! Egli è innocente! Numi, pietà!” began with some restraint, displaying her hope of Radames saving himself but by the third time, Garanča sang with more despair. In the “Sacerdoti: compiste un delitto!,” her voice rang with desperation, and the high notes boomed with power. In her final “anatema su voi!,” she held out the note for as long as she could. It was a tour de force.

At the end of the evening, Garanča received the biggest ovation. Hopefully, the Met will have her back more regularly.

Exciting Stage Partners

In the role of Radamès, Brian Jagde had a solid evening. His “Celeste Aida” had a rocky start as he had several intonation issues and an unsteady orchestra to perform with. His ascensions into the higher range also seemed to be cut short and lacked finesse. That said, he did attempt to sing with some piano colors and attempted to shape the aria with delicacy. He quickly recovered in the Act one and two ensembles as his voice rang with clarity and immense power over the volcanic sound of the orchestra. But it was in Act three that the tenor shone. Jagde came out with a heroic “Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida…” and was slowly seduced by Angel Blue’s sound singing with a mix of anguish and brightness. His ascension into “Il ciel de’ nostri amori” saw Jagde scale back his sound as he sang his high note with a floated piano. The purity of the sound was a great contrast from his usual booming tenor. Throughout the rest of the duet, Jagde sustained his phrases with connected legato lines. His “Sì, fuggiam da queste mura” saw the tenor perform with drive, but that quickly dissipated in the ensuing trio as Jagde’s Radames again obtained anguish with each “Io son disonorato!” His final “Sacerdote, io resto a te” at the end of the act was nothing short of powerful, as the voice rang with power and defiance.

That defiance continued into Act four in his duet with Garanča. As the mezzo moved around the stage looking for a way to save Jagde’s Radames, he stood in place, resistant to each of her pleas. His “Di mie discolpe i giudici” had a biting edge with accented phrases and powerful high notes. He combined the confrontational approach with anguish as he ascended into the higher reaches, especially in the lines “Mi attende e vuoi ch’io viva?” Together with Garanča, Jagde provided electricity on the stage, each bringing the confrontation to a climax with voluminous timbres.

Angel Blue had a solid evening displaying how much she has grown into the character, and her interpretation has become a lot richer. Her “Ritorna Vinctor” was incredibly heartfelt, with a shimmering middle voice that saw the soprano sing with connected phrases and expressive diction. Her “Numi Pieta” saw the soprano rise from a mezzopiano to a forte, bringing out the intensity of her Aida’s emotions. Then, in the duet with Garanča, Blue displayed powerful high notes that demonstrated her anger and anguish. Her “Tu sei felice, tu sei possente” was sung with pain, and Blue rode each phrase to its climax with a focused sound. In the ensembles in the second half of Act two, the soprano’s voice cut through the immense ensemble with vibrant power and command. But it was perhaps her Act three and four appearances that convinced the most. In her duet with Amonasro, Blue let out the full volume of her voice, singing with desperate colors as she pleaded with Amartuvshvin Enkhbat’s Amonasro. Here she threw herself to the ground as she sang “Ah! padre! no!…Ah! pietà, padre!” with profound emotion. And then in the “Non maledirmi, non imprecarmi”  there was a yearning in each of Blue’s phrases. You could sense the emotion take over as Blue sang each repetition of “O patria! O patria!” with a more weeping sound. The duet with Radamès saw the soprano with a more sultry timbre that emphasized Aida’s flirtatious qualities. Blue even moved around the stage, seducing her stage partner. It was evident that she was invested in every moment and “Là, tra foreste vergini” was sung with connected and warm long phrases. She and Brian Jagde’s voices melded beautifully throughout this duet. That vocal alignment was also present in the final duet “O Terra addio” as the two singers combined their voices with emotional power, bringing glorious sound into the auditorium.

That said, Blue does have a hard time scaling back her voice in the more subtle “O Patria Mia.” While she does have moments of gorgeous pianissimos and connected lines like in the repetition of “mai più ti rivedro,” the soprano does have a hard time floating the lines, and as she ascends to the higher reaches of her voice, a hard wobble is audible. She also has a hard time sustaining the notes and cuts them off quite short. That wobble was also present at the end of “Fuggiam gli ardori inospiti” as she attempted to float the final note of the duet and had to simply let it go.

Amartuvshvin Enkhbat is considered one of the great baritones of his generation, and his voice is truly gorgeous and expressive. However, on this evening, as Amonasro, his second Met assignment, he was outdone by the orchestra. His opening entrances at the end of Act two were inaudible, and he showed no command of the scene. In his Act three duet with Aida, the bass started tentatively in “Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate,” albeit singing with warm legato and connected phrases. It was only until “Su, dunque! sorgete” and “Una larva orribile” that Enkhbat was truly able to release a powerful baritone and got into the scene. He displayed a menacing force, biting into the text with a staccato line. Then, in “Pensa che un popolo vinto, straziato” as he kneeled to comfort Blue’s Aida, the leathery baritone timbre displayed a calming and noble sound. The trio that ends the act saw Enkhbat at his best as he seemed to let out all the rage of his character.

In the role of Ramfis, Morris Robinson showed a sturdy bass that resonated throughout ensembles. However, his demeanor was a bit stiff, and his diction was muddled. Krzysztof Baczyk gave his King a regal voice while Tessa McQueen displayed a gorgeous legato line as the priestess.

Bombastic and Erratic

With such a solid cast, it was disappointing to hear the orchestra in such a dire state. Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s conducting on this evening could be described as bombastic and erratic. During the big ensembles, the conductor would release the entire power of the orchestra, especially in the brass section. It could be exciting at some points, but at others, overwhelming and incredibly headache-inducing.  It also got overly repetitive; there should be a certain amount of movement toward this dynamic, instead of playing fortissimo all the time. It also created balance issues throughout the evening, especially with Enkhbat, who was overwhelmed by the orchestra.

But that wasn’t the only issue on this evening. Nézet-Séguin simply did not follow his singers. In “Celeste Aida,” he was behind Brian Jagde’s tempo and in the opening trio, he sped the entire ensemble up, creating unbalance between each performer. Then, in the temple of Vulcan scene, the women’s chorus was sped up and unbalanced from the rest of the men’s chorus. In Aida and Radamès’ duet, as Blue was about to sing a phrase, Nézet-Séguin failed to follow the soprano and she had to hold an extra beat that threatened to make the passage fall apart. In the judgment scene with Garanča, the conductor attempted to speed up the mezzo on several occasions, not following her tempi. But perhaps the most erratic was the final duet of the opera. While he started the duet with a slow and tranquil tempo, once Blue came in to sing “Vedi? Di morte l’angelo,” Nezet-Seguin rushed the passage, making it almost like an unrecognizable cabaletta. And during the “O Terra Addio” section, the orchestra continued to play almost as if it were an andante vivace, rather than an introspective moment. The piece had no emotional pull due to the swift tempo, and the final chords had no shimmer, nor did they die out. They were simply an afterthought.

The other big issue of the night was the production. While I will not talk in depth about it as we have already reviewed (You can read it here), Michael Mayer’s production, which premiered in December, already looks old, tired, and messy. The ballets looked unrehearsed and made too much noise, and the garish costumes, are unflattering to everyone. The neon lights give the entire set a cheap look, and the archaeologists are more distracting the second time around. The random curtain in between Act one and two is interminable, and the pause between the Nile scene and the judgment scene is an example of poor direction. The final suicide has been corrected to have a fade-out effect instead of a flash, but it’s still distracting and out of place. Perhaps the Met should find ways to revitalize this gaudy production or find a way to bring back Sonja Frisell’s monumental piece.