Best Actresses for Aida

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 4:26pm

Who were/are the best actresses to play Aida?
Who was strongest vocally?
Acting?

Let's rate em!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 4:32pm

Leontyne Price

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 4:48pm

I've only seen it once with Simone and she knocked my socks off!

such grace, such vocal power, such acting subtleness, she commanded the stage. She WAS Aida.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 4:52pm

Valerie Bertinelli!

What!

It could happen!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 5:13pm

gee, thanks voiceanth

you guys out there know what they say about brains over bronze, lol

j/k

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 5:14pm

My very favourite to date has been Merle Dandridge.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 5:20pm

Merle really? which ones have you seen? please rate them all!

i saw Merle as Nebeka and she wasn't that strong, and I was wondering how in the hell was she an Aida understudy! But then I heard her sing "Easy as a Life" on her website, and man she's firece!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 6:18pm

I remember Merle from JCS. She understudied Mary, and more than one person at the time remarked that she was terrific. I remember then seeing Aida and thinking that she'd be perfect in that role, too.

Do you have a link to her website?

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 6:33pm

I've seen four Aidas. Heather Headley, Paulette Ivory, Simone and Toni Braxton. I'm not usually a fan of the "the first is the best" attitude, but where the role of Aida is concerned, I have adopted it. Heather just commands the role and really set the tone for what I think Aida should be like. I've never seen anyone portray her the way she did, though Paulette did come close, and her voice is just a powerhouse. "Gods Love Nubia" used to give me chills and take my breath away, with an audible murmuring after the houselights came on by the audience, and I haven't experienced that since she left. Maybe it's because Aida is the type of show that you shouldn't see a lot, but I think it was more Heather. I'd pay extreme amounts of money to see her again.

The four ranked go in the order I saw them, with Toni Braxton by FAR the weakest.
Updated On: 10/23/03 at 06:33 PM

[dididda]

Posted: 10/23/03 at 6:45pm

ive seen saycon and toni, i thought saycon did an great job with it. toni was a little iffy. jusdging by the cd alone i think heather hedley is the best though.

as for amneris(heheh getting OT) ive seen felicia finley and mandy gonzalez. i wasnt impressed too much by felicia but i ADORED mandy, i thought she was sensational. i think i prefer mandy to sherie actually. and ive heard a few clips of idina menzel and i think that she rocked socks as amneris, i wish i could see her. okay im done:)

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 8:52am

As I’ve said before…

I went to AIDA three days after Heather won the TONY…and walked away thinking it was one of the greatest musical theatre performances I had ever seen…

And GirlfriendFromCanada, I agree with you, there was this buzz that happened after “The Gods love Nubia” that was just electric…everyone sensed they were watching something special…

At the curtain calls, no one in the audience stood…but when Heather walked out, there was a spontaneous standing ovation from the top to the bottom of the house…

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 8:55am

Hmmm...Let's see...

I've seen Maya Days, Simone, Saycon and Merle and yes I still have to say that it was Merle that I liked the best. She was very "real" and completely believable and was so subtle. Simone can tear up some of the songs, but I don't care for some of her acting choices. That cheesy over the top smile she always gave in the middle of "Not Me" never sat well with me. Maya, I didn't mind at all, though not as vocally powerful as Simone and Saycon...Well, good LORD could we leak any more air? Man, her voice was so breathy and raspy that I seriously thought that she was sick or was in the process of losing her voice. A few of the merch workers at the Palace assured me that she was not. Merle had an amazingly strong voice, a great stage presence and just totally blew me away.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 9:03am

iflitifloat....
Merle Dandridge

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 9:49am

I saw Aida with Maya Days and the second time with Simone. Both knocked my socks off. I wish I could have seen Heather also. When I hear the commercials for Toni Braxton..it sounds all wrong.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 9:54am

Dididda...

Just to let you know, yes Idina DID rock the part. AMAZING! One of the sassiest and attitude performances I've ever seen of Amneris. I liked her so much after seeing ehr in November 2001 that I drove back down in January 2002 to see her before her run ended. No one else has ever compared for me. Felicia was great, but I found her to be very much like Sheri Renee.

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 12:04pm

I totally agree, Voiceanth, I'm getting chills just thinking about Val doing "Easy As Life."

I have seen: Saycon, Simone and Toni.

Simone...extraordinary. My only problem with her is that she looked so much older than Adam.

Saycon...reminded me a lot of Simone, and was the perfect age.

Toni...why on earth did she cry so much, especially during Elaborate Lives at the end? That was annoying. Also, her voice was SO LOW that it was hard to understand what she was saying.

Tamyra Gray might be good...

[WSS2]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 2:52pm

Leona Mitchell

[TTL]

Posted: 10/24/03 at 8:38pm

I've only seen Heather Headley and Simone as AIDA....I like Heather over Simone....although I like Felicia Finley's Amneris over Sherie Renee Scott. I think it would be cool to see Long-Time AIDA cast member Schele Williams as AIDA. Has anyone seen her take over? I believe she's the U/S or Standby for AIDA as well as Being Nehebkah

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/25/03 at 7:05pm

Leontyne Price was good, but I think Aprile Millo really rocked!