Verdi, Zubin Mehta – “Aida” Highlights

“Aida” is one of the great workhorses of the opera world, and one of the few operas these days that is probably still identifiable to people who have little or no interest in the genre. The show’s strengths are many — a score that is gorgeous, soaring and haunting, a story that is both epic in scale and intimate in detail, and of course one of the most poignant and profound love triangles in any love story in any medium. Many operas tell the story of human beings caught up in tragic circumstances set against the larger-than-life spectacle, few achieve such a perfect harmony between story and form as “Aida”.

As such, “Aida” is one of the perfect starting off points for people who come to be “bitten by the opera bug” as I was several years ago, a great way to become acquainted with the form while also being thoroughly entertained. After seeing a production at the Met recently, I decided to purchase a highlights recording and decided on Verdi: Aida (Highlights). It quickly become one of the most played LP in my collection. This Rome Opera House recording, under the conductor Zubin Mehta, is superb in every way. The disc features the major arias and songs key to the narrative performed by singers who capture every note and emotional nuance. The Act II section, featuring the celebration and grand procession at the Royal Court, perhaps the most famous (and the opera music most heard outside of an opera house) sequence in all of opera, is a highlight of this recording; making us feel as if we were hearing this spectacular score for the first time ever.