Friday, December 17, 1999
Opera delays 'Aida' redesign, bid for grant
BY JANELLE GELFAND
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A hush-hush plan for a daring new production of Verdi's Aida designed by Zaha Hadid has been postponed by Cincinnati Opera.
The application for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for scenery and costumes designed by the Iraqi-born London architect in next season's Aida has been withdrawn.
The reason is time, artistic director Nicholas Muni says.
“The design of a major production like this is usually three years in the planning and execution, and we had only about 18 months,” he says.
Mr. Muni approached Ms. Hadid to design Aida shortly after the unveiling of her design for the $30.3 million Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, to be constructed downtown.
“There was a visual and theatrical flair that I thought would be perfectly suited to opera,” he says.
Funding was also an issue. The cost for the new production — scenery, costumes and design fees — will be $800,000. That jumps to $1.5 million when one includes the singers, orchestra and conductor.
Cincinnati Opera is investigating a co-production with national and international opera companies to help fund the premiere.
When Cincinnati Opera eventually mounts Ms. Hadid's Aida — likely in the 2004 season — it will be the architect's first operatic design.
“The initial sketches are spectacular. Based on those, what will be done will be absolutely astonishing and will move operatic stage design into a different dimension,” Mr. Muni says.
“We saw an opportunity to fulfill those in a much better way by postponing. I wasn't happy, but it was a very responsible decision and Zaha is supporting it.”
Cincinnati Opera will present a traditional Aida July 14, 19 and 22, with American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves singing her first Amneris, as announced.
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