Calixto Bieito's Aida opens in Basel

Blood! Dead cows! Underpants!

The small but adventurous Theater Basel premiered their new Calixto Bieito-directed Aida last night. No reviews out yet, but plenty of photos (more over the page).

 






 

 

All photos (c) Hans-Jörg Michel / Theater Basel

And here's a promotional trailer:

Comments

[Ian.]

How about a Coca Cola ad on the sets and tear gas to make it a more stadium-like place during a football match?
Bieito sees too many thrillers on his TV set.
Easy ideas, easy money but NO quality!

[Keith]

I'd rather sit through this, as it looks rather exciting, compared to David McVicar's dreary farrago at Covent Garden...and this seems better sung (which let's face it, wouldn't be that freakin' hard)...

[Zurriuss]

I can imagine what the directors would do if they had a right to change texts :D :D :D

[Zurriuss]

And I don't like Aida's vibration voice. Apparently she smokes too much :|

[Gustavo Lanfranchi]

I just love Bieito. What he does is great theatre, and that's what opera should be about, in the end.

[sjt]

Doppelganger alert!!

8th picture down, after the jump. What is Elina Garanca, dressed as Carmen, doing to poor Thomas Adès? Commissioning an opera? Or are they pictures of the Pope's UK visit?

[Nikolaus Vogel]

The Amneris looks like Michelle de Young. Is it her?

[Jim]

I mean reallly. How much more of this **** is the world of opera expected to tolerate? This kind of thing will kill DVDs and make people only want to purchase CDs of opera performances, thus protecting their vision from unnecessary damage.

[Ysabel]

It looks like Aida with Zombies!

[inter mezzo]

@Nikolaus Vogel It is indeed Michelle de Young, her first Amneris. She writes a little about it in her blog: http://www.michelledeyoung.com/journal.php

[Tristan]

@Jim - Really? Lots of opera goers would gladly, quickly and excitedly exchange the the two current vacuous productions of Aida at ENO and the ROH with the Bieito/Basel one. In fact, I personally don't know anyone who has a kind word for either of those London productions.

Not sure what you could possibly mean with unnecessary damage, either, but I do know which Aida DVD I'd rather buy.

[Sebastian Petit]

Looks like the usual Bieito shit. Gives yet another meaning to flogging a dead horse (or cow)

[shuttle]

Zombie and opera ?? is a bad cocktail,I think