Covent Garden have a rare half price offer. It's only for the 'C' cast of David McVicar's 'Trekkie' Aida revival, and only for the most expensive tickets, so don't all rush at once.
Stalls tickets on 10, 13 and 15 April are reduced by 50% to £110. Yes, that's the price *after* reduction. Book online here.
They're not even going to be able to give tickets for this turkey away, let alone charge half-price. The question is this: given that no-one, but no-one, with even half an ear had a good word for Micaela Carosi's raw, edgy, imprecise, inadequate Aida last year, how come we're getting her for another EIGHT performances? Mr. Katona?
Posted by: sjt | 16 February 2011 at 01:20 AM
Possibly this is the student standby offer everyone has been craving !
I suppose they are sort of stuck with it - not good enough to sell well but not bad enough to justify scrapping it.
Is McVicar supervising the revival ?
Posted by: amac | 16 February 2011 at 10:03 AM
@Amac - was just thinking the very same thing - this one is going straight to the students for a tenner.
It really was rubbish, nothing more to be said about it!
Posted by: Michael | 16 February 2011 at 10:57 AM
Those discounted performances have Latonia Moore as Aida instead of the dreadful Ms Carosi, is it possible that she might be better? (I suppose she could hardly be much worse!)
Not that I would be all that keen in going even if they were giving the tickets away for nothing. I would quite like to hear Lukas Jakobski as the King, but not enough to put up with the rest of the cast!
Posted by: Miriam | 16 February 2011 at 12:40 PM
Latonia Moore was a mesmerising Liu a few seasons back and I for one am looking forward to hearing her again. The less said about Carosi, the better.
Posted by: su traditor | 16 February 2011 at 02:42 PM
I really do hope the ROH casting guy gets the message - Carosi was simply terrible. I don't tend to write negative reviews, but she was perhaps the worst cast lead I have ever heard at Covent Carden.
I'd say give Aida a miss. Instead (for half the price of this half price discounted ticket!) go and listen to Pollini at the RFH.
Posted by: e | 16 February 2011 at 10:26 PM
I don't know whether it's sad, or ironic, or both but Claire Rutter could send Micaela Corrosion packing down the Nile. She is a far better Aida than that coarse-grained Italian dud but maybe the RO think that she sells tickets? Oh, how wrong they are...who was it said "Why bother employing third rate foreign singers when we have second rate singers of our own"? Or something like that?
Posted by: keithyboy | 16 February 2011 at 11:28 PM
Totally off topic: Sir Colin Davis took a tumble entering the pit at the opening of Flute tonight, delaying the start of the show by 20 minutes while David Syrus got ready to recommence the overture. Sir Colin wished to reassure the performers that he is ok and the show went without further hitches.
Posted by: su traditor | 17 February 2011 at 12:07 AM
Judging by her L.Borgia I don't think Rutter has the vocal chops any longer for Aida. How about Gweneth Ann Jefers.
Posted by: Vecchio John | 17 February 2011 at 08:51 AM
O soave Sir John - bravissimo. Reading Christiansen in the Telegraph and Ashley in the Guardian you would think they had heard Caballé-Sutherland-Sills rolled into one.
Posted by: Nikolaus Vogel | 17 February 2011 at 01:12 PM
Perhaps this is a job for "Danny Knows Best" who has been very quiet these past few months. He could help sell some of the other productions too. (Having created a marketing tool, you may as well use it. Having tried to find a new audience, you may as well continue helping to develop their experiences.)
Posted by: Ryan | 19 February 2011 at 11:26 PM