A Pleasant Surprise
// October 5th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music
I was pleasantly surprised this saturday. I was treated (by my friend Derek) to a wonderful performance of Aida. The surprise was that it was wonderful, unlike the earlier experience of Don Giovanni. I’m probably too critical of classical music performances for the most part, but this performance was riveting! I had never seen a performance of Aida before and didn’t even know the story. Derek bought a programme, but I decided not to read it. I wanted it to be a completely virgin performance. I wanted to experience it as if it was the first time it had ever been performed. I didn’t want to know what was going to happen in the end. It mesmerised me. The story is pretty standard as operas go, but Verdi achieves a pace that doesn’t make never seems drawn out. The singing by the soloists was sublime. Sibongile’s lower range never fails to give me goose-bumps and Johan Botha’s ability to swell from pianissimo to fortissimo and back with one breath and without any tonal ‘nasties’ was an impressive feat!
I left the venue feeling invigorated and moved and with renewed hope that performances in South Africa can be worth it.
