Rating: 
Summary: An Aida to treasure.
Review: A cast like this is practically impossible to find or replicate today. Pavarotti and Dimitrova were in their prime (the latter would "progress" to the Aida rôle shrotly afterwards) and Maria Chiara, in spite of a tentative start, amply shows that she still was in very fine form, her portrayal soon growing into a warmth and securenes seldom seen. The Ronconi production was spectacular and shed some of the traditions that tended to be the norm (like dancing, remember the ballets were asked for by Verdi to accomodate Parisian tastes when the original production moved from Cairo to Europe) and thence you will encounter the ballet music firstly to accomodate pranks by kids who brusquely interrupt the languor and peacefulness of Amneris's bath, and later to accompany some heavy labouring by slaves in the triumphal scene. Mazzel's conducting is precise and to the point, the La Scala orchestra irreproachable as is also the very idiomatic chorus. And what's more, to have Ghiaurov, Buchuladze and Pons to support Pavarotti, Chiara and Dimitrova as Amonasro, the Paraoh and Ramfis was a splendid luxury only a theatre like La Scala could attract. The opera was recorded live some 15 years ago and, along with the Met's rival version with Millo and Domingo on a DG dvd, belong in any collection. You can't go wrong with either, although I'd slightly prefer this La Scala production, in spite of the lack of ballet criticised by some colleague reviewers. And don't mind the (for me unobtrusive) nudity that accompanies the Amneris' bath scene: after all, it's only natural that people undress to bathe!
Rating:
Summary: An Aida to treasure.
Review: A cast like this is practically impossible to find or replicate today. Pavarotti and Dimitrova were in their prime (the latter would "progress" to the Aida rôle shrotly afterwards) and Maria Chiara, in spite of a tentative start, amply shows that she still was in very fine form, her portrayal soon growing into a warmth and securenes seldom seen. The Ronconi production was spectacular and shed some of the traditions that tended to be the norm (like dancing, remember the ballets were asked for by Verdi to accomodate Parisian tastes when the original production moved from Cairo to Europe) and thence you will encounter the ballet music firstly to accomodate pranks by kids who brusquely interrupt the languor and peacefulness of Amneris's bath, and later to accompany some heavy labouring by slaves in the triumphal scene. Mazzel's conducting is precise and to the point, the La Scala orchestra irreproachable as is also the very idiomatic chorus. And what's more, to have Ghiaurov, Buchuladze and Pons to support Pavarotti, Chiara and Dimitrova as Amonasro, the Paraoh and Ramfis was a splendid luxury only a theatre like La Scala could attract. The opera was recorded live some 15 years ago and, along with the Met's rival version with Millo and Domingo on a DG dvd, belong in any collection. You can't go wrong with either, although I'd slightly prefer this La Scala production, in spite of the lack of ballet criticised by some colleague reviewers. And don't mind the (for me unobtrusive) nudity that accompanies the Amneris' bath scene: after all, it's only natural that people undress to bathe!
Rating: 
Summary: Gran Aida.
Review: A nivel general esta es una gran version de Aida, comenzando por la puesta en escena de LUCA RONCONI, bella y coherente visualmente en todo momento, sin los alardes tipicos de la obra, pero con un inteligente movimiento de figurantes.
Luego, en el apartado vocal tenemos al sobresaliente Radames de LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, en uno de sus dias de gloria, a la poderosa Amneris de GHENA DIMITROVA (sin los medios de la Zajick, pero muy notable tambien) y a esos lujos para los papeles secundarios que se llaman PAATA BURDZULADZE (Ramfis), JUAN PONS (Amonasro) y NICOLAI GHIAUROV (Rey de Egipto), todos de lujo en sus respectivas partes.
La Aida de MARIA CHIARA cumple bien, aunque no llega a arrebatar vocalmente, impone una presencia escenica bastante interesante. Aunque prefiero a Aprille Millo...
LORIN MAZZEL lleva comodamente la direccion de los cuerpos estables de la Scalla de Milan, todos ellos muy ductiles, rematando asi una version de Aida bastante interesante.
Rating: 
Summary: Forgettable, but has its strong points
Review: CRITICISMS:1. If you know the opera very well and can handle the Italian, tough. There's no way to get Italian subtitles (at least on the edition of this DVD sold in Europe). 2. The "grand march" (musically, probably the most magical moment of this opera) was inanely coreographed. According to the libretto, they're supposed to be bringing in "the spoils of war," as they dance to the music. Instead we have a bunch of guys dragging giant statues around the stage with ropes. The famous "Dance of the Moorish Slaves" was also ineptly done, but that has been adequately discussed below. 3. Pavarotti does indeed have weight problems. He's so fat in this performance, it's distracting. 4. The quality of the audio recording, if you put on some quality headphones and listen to it carefully, is frequently poor. The attentive listener can hear pops, clunking, clanking, coughing, page turning, etc. (Of course, to be fair, this WAS recorded live.) This is something you'll want to know if you're an aural purist. PRAISE: 1. Singingwise, the performers are at their peak. 2. With the exception of the lack of Italian, the subtitles were well brought off. 3. Considering the limitations of their situation, the cameramen did an excellent job. But amazing work on their part doesn't necessarily mean it's quality viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thing the voices were good
Review: First things first: Pavarotti, Chiara, Dhimitrova, and Pons were all in good voice, but none of them can compare with performances like the early Callas, del Monaco, Dominguez, Taddei set, or the Bjorling, Milanov, Barbieri, Warren set, or the Corelli, Nilsson, Bumbry, Sereni set, or anything!... Though Pavarotti's Radames was beautiful, his acting made him seem like a statue in the background. Chiara's Aida was pretty but her acting was atrocious and the way she grinned and bowed after, "O patria mia" made me want to throw up. Dhimitrova was a rich-voiced Amneris, but her acting was similarly poor. Meanwhile, the sets were miserable. Ugh! Disgusting! The final scene wasn't even divided in half, and the triumphal march seemed like an earthquake with people running insanely back and forth between shifting statues. The costumes were horrendous- why would you give a slave like Aida a million necklaces and bracelets like she has? Why would everyone be wearing immensely hot clothing in Ancient Egypt? Why would La Scala let there be nudity in the Nubian Slave Dance? Why? And then there was the "ballet" in the second act. I couldn't distinguish the dancers from the running mob of citizens! And the dance with the priests and priestesses in the first act? It's all arm-waving and walking around. I'd buy the Domingo, Millo, Zajick, Milnes, Levine video if you want a good Aida video. If you know a lot about opera and have heard other Aida sets, you might want to buy this to laugh at.
Rating:
Summary: Where's Price when you need her....
Review: good production--radames was too big--maria was a o.k. aida-- she did too many hand movements--it was distracting---the costumes were awful--as a black man i was offend by the makeup job---it was horrible--nobody black ever looked like that... to see a true aida--watch Leontyne Price final performane in 1985 .. you will see the true AIDA----
Rating:
Summary: Fine Voices, Good Performance
Review: I agree with the viewer from Stone Mountain, Georgia, that this opera was a great performance as far as orchestra, chorus, and voices are concerned. Ghena Dimitrova as Amneris is absolutely superb. Pavarotti's voice is top notch as you can imagine, but his acting is kind of stiff. Maria Chiara sounds fine, although I think Birgit Nilsson is my favorite with a brighter voice. Many people criticize the slave dance (Act II) with nudity, I agree. The triumphant scence is obscured with gigantic props, with made the stage too crowded and clumpsy - La Scala's stage is just simply not big enough. There are occasional noises from back stage and the audience, but it may be inevitable. Overall, this is a time masterpiece, a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: Visually interesting, poor acting
Review: I found this a very interesting presentation of a very popular and famous opera. Of course, we all know that Aida is to take place in Egypt, however, I wasn't sure if Egypt was the country in which the story was taking place, or exactly which time period it was taking place in. Not one bit of the costuming (or the sets) appeared Egyptian in the slightest degree, and strange as it sounds, the entire opera seemed to be more something from the "Arabian Nights" than the days of the Pharoah's. Putting that aside, visually, the opera was stunning and very beautiful. Most of the costumes did the singers proud, making them really appear glamorous. The only exception was, of course, Pavarotti, and his costume looked like it was made in "Desert Sands Tent Shop." The oriental shoulder pads did little to even out his very LARGE frame. He could have actually worn Jessye Norman's costume for Sieglinde in Walkure (done by the MET) and it would have looked almost the same, excepting it was in brown and this in blue. The basic figure was almost the same as Norman at that time.
The sound wasn't bad either, and we were not "treated" to the strange pianissimo at the end of Celeste Aida we are greeted with in the recording released on Decca of this same performance. I found the sound quite clear, and only very slightly did it seem unbalanced, and only from time to time. It was never a distraction.
The distraction was firstly the super bad acting of most of the singers, and I mean most of them. Pavarotti was his wooden self with no sense of character, or anything, for that matter. He sang well, but without anything very dramatic being conveyed. Chiara sounded actually way better in the DVD live performance recording than she did in the studio one of this same performance. There she was more than lifeless and her penetrating
high notes really were awful. Here, however, she sang quite fine, and even though those same high notes were a bit too brilliant and at times almost shrill, they were fine. The problem with her performance is she is about the most boring person I have ever seen on stage. Pavarotti can't act, but he is seldom boring (even just being himself gives an audience a lot). Her actions consisted of rising one arm, then two; in moments of high drama she would move which ever arm more quickly, but the basic movements never changed. She had what Wagner called "eternal swimming motions" which he thought were horrible. I happen to agree. She always made her stage entrances as if she were frightened we might know she were there. She reminded me of a character from Rikki Tikki Tavi who would slink around the walls of the room and never actually dare to enter the center of it. One bit of stage business that really was affective was having her enter the famous Nile Scene by boat. Here, and only here, was her "fear of being seen" affective. Other than that, it was a constant annoyance.
The other characters were completely forgettable, as they are in most every performance. Who ever remembers who plays the King, or the high priest? Few of us. However, we do appreciate when they are affective in the scenes they are in. In this case, they were affective, very affective, but like all minor roles, they were overshadowed by the leads.
And in this case, everyone was overshadowed by Ghena Dimitrova. Her Amneris was exciting and developed carefully as a character. Too often she is presented as if she is some psychic witch constantly suspicious and dying to do evil. If one reads the libretto, one really gets the feeling that she and Radames were a thing before the pretty Aida entered the picture. In the trio just after the opera starts, we are often treated to a very angry Amneris, when in reality she is only suspicious that perhaps Radames doesn't love her as he once did. We saw her doubts and fears, and her suspicions, but we were not forced to see a raving witch so early in the opera (and if the truth be told, at no time should she be presented that way). She is a princess, she is powerful, she is in love, and she is rejected. She feels jealously, even rage, but she is filled with sorrow, and anger with herself for having caught Radames betraying his country and her. Dimitrova captures all the emotions of the part, and is not the traditional raving, jealous witch we are accustomed to seeing. Her great scene is the trial scene, and we are not disappointed. Finally we have an Amneris who can manage the upper register with strength and power, which is needed. I guess I am torn between a mezzo singing the role, and a really powerful dramatic soprano with a good lower range. I found Dimitrova far more exciting than Cossotto (who is considered a legend in the part). Cossotto had the voice, but her Amneris is nothing but a jealous witch from beginning to end. There is no development and she is not a great actress either. One thing that was refreshing was seeing the person of Amneris actually listening during the trial. So often she is just counting time waiting for her next big outburst.
I enjoyed the work, but I rated it only a three because it was lacking in so many ways. Visual affects, lovely costumes (even if they suggest nothing of the era or country the story is taking place in), and good singing don't create the illusion of drama that we expect to see. So many singers now days are first rate actors, and we are getting more and more used to them. Even an opera like Aida requires them, for the show of the triumphal scene is just that, one scene. When we don't see real people and feel real emotions (both because of their voices and their actions) we miss half the story and all the character development that must be there.
Rating: 
Summary: Aida Amateur Night!
Review: If you want a good Aida video, get The Met version with Domingo and Millo, Zajick, Milnes and a fantastic production from begininng to end. This La Scala version is almost funny it's so bad. The singers just stand like statues staring at the conductor - not even an attempt to act the roles or relate to each other. The sets are comical and the costumes off someone's old rack. Unless you are a real fan of the cast members (Pav is in good voice doing his concert schitchk, arms outstreched, eyes closed & the usual "don't you just love me grin" on his face; Dimitrova stiffly swoops and screams her way through, eyes glued to the conductor; Chiara has poses and so-so voice with -0- emotion). Too bad The Met isn't available on DVD. I have tape and LD. Even on tape, it's better than this version. Boring is the word for this performance. Verdi would not approve!! PASS ON IT!
Rating:
Summary: Best opera I have ever seen!!
Review: It is excellent! The music of this opera is awesome and singers like Pavarotti make it even better. If you like Verdi or Pavarotti that's exactly what you want.
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