Aida — Page 2

no- the dvd of that particular show

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Yeah, it was a DVD for that high school's production.

Ourtime, I definitely think that even people not familiar with it would understand the Egypt/Nubia conflict; it's reinforced over and over. (I have issues with how "Aida is a princess!" is revealed through a confusing song where Mereb is all, "My father was employed by the king, who is your father, which makes you the princess," but that's neither here nor there.)

You know, its funny, I thought the character Mereb was okay, he had an important part and whatnot, but he never really stood out to me until I saw my friend Alex play him. He was absolutely brilliant and I actually really liked his performance more than Damian Perkins'... his Mereb was so much richer and at one point he played it as if Mereb could have even fallen in love with Aida.

I've only seen the Broadway production, but it seems to me that the show could work fine with different racial casting. At the same time, I believe that America's history of slavery was in the minds of the creators and provided an extra layer of meaning. The heavy African-American influence in the score reflected this too.

Tiff, it's spelled something like Nehebka

I bet the sets were SPECTACULAR!

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"At the same time, I believe that America's history of slavery was in the minds of the creators and provided an extra layer of meaning. "

So very true. Race is never mentioned in the play but the casting of a Aida as black and Radames as white gave the show a subtext that was more complex and resonant. Good thing too because the play as written, wasn't all that deep.

Incidently, Most Egyptians then and now are of Caucasian stock. Even when you don't take in to account the Greek/Macedonian Ptolemy royal family, most Egyptians were dark Caucasian. And while they were dark-skinned and not Nordic-looking like Adam Pascal and Sherie Rene Scott - who were no doubt blonded up to contrast more with the very West African-looking Heather Headley - they were Caucasians nontheless.

And Aida's country of origin, Nubia, is a Black African nation. Historically it makes more sense dramatically that
Aida would be from that country instead of Ethiopia where she hailed from in the Opera.

Nubia had a long love/hate relationship with Egypt which was one of the powerfull countries that was always invading it. But there actually were times when the two nations were on good terms and during those times, there was lots of intermarrying.

Indeed, Egypt was even briefly ruled by a Nubian, one of the few Nubian Kings who was actually able to defeat Egypt at war. But of course, the reign didn't last long.

Updated On: 2/28/06 at 08:02 PM

I thought Amneris' top note was a F# in Strongest Suit? Or maybe the vocal selections are in a different key.

Aida has that amazing belted gospel style F at the end of Dance of the Robes. I love listening to Heather Headley pop that out with so much power. When I finally got to see the show I was delighted to see Deborah Cox sing it just as well if not better. Unlike some of the replacement celebs she used the original keys. Wish there was a recording of Maya Days though...that girl has a fierce voice.

Unlike Mickey Dolenz....urrggggggggh! He fell apart in "Like Father Like Son" and didnt even attempt the B flat.

Sorry I am such a money note mark

"Actually, Nubia and Ethiopia are the same place, the Nubians themselves called in Nubia and everyone else used Ethiopia, and they obviously didn't want to use the two different terms in the play cause... it would confuse people."

No, Nubia and Ethiopia are not the same country. From the dictionary:

Nubia

n : an ancient region of northeastern Africa (southern Egypt and northern Sudan) on the Nile; much of Nubia is now under Lake Nasser [syn: Nubia]

Ethiopia

n : Ethiopia is a republic in northeastern Africa on the Red Sea; formerly called Abyssinia [syn: Ethiopia, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Yaltopya, Abyssinia]

The confusion seems to come fron the fact that many people especially African Americans, have been known to refer to all black people as Nubian regardless of their country of origin.

As you can see on this African map, the countries are not the same.

Updated On: 2/28/06 at 12:52 PM

A high school near me did a basically all-white production of Aida last year and it was quite honestly one of the most insulting things I've ever seen. The story really does lose something by so-called colorblind casting. I just don't think it works when race is such an integral part of the story. You wouldn't see an all-white version of A Raisin in the Sun or a Hispanic version of Miss Saigon.

And another vote of love for I Know the Truth, which I will venture to say is the best song in the show. It also makes the most sense on its own outside the context of the show.

I really think all-white casts are fine. Race is one issue in Aida, but it is not the issue and doesn't actually have to be an issue at all. With a black Aida, there is the added racial element, but the story should be strong enough to stand up on its own, race notwithstanding.

"Well then the packet of info they gave the actors was incorrect."

Wouldn't be the first time.