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
