Aida

My first opera in Munich, or rather, my first Opera. Before you start judging me, there aren't too many back in Singapore, plus i don't see the point in paying for something that is equivalent to 10 good meals, to watch fat people singing at the top of their voices. Plus its usually not in the language that i can comprehend. It just not my cup of tea. So why did i go for this one then, when its just like the others? Yeah you got it.. ITS FREE! Ya ya cheapo me i hear.. Anyway, its the Generalprobe, in Singapore terms, its the final rehearsal. My school has managed to get hold of a couple of complimentary tickets, so we went together a group. Being total disinterested in such plays, i have never heard of the so called popular piece "Aida". Perhaps I have heard it before, but i would think the name simply bounced of my anti literature head. Having our seats reserved, we didn't have to join the queue which looked like a snake with its head in the theatre and the ass 200 meters into the open plaza. Seriously..Walking into the theatre with a smug smile on our faces, we attracted a couple of predators with placecards in hand that read "ich suche eine karte!". It was as though they could sense that we had extra tickets. They lingered around persistently until our tour guide (school administrator) handed the last extra ticket to our late schoolmate, then leaving us with a dejected look on their face, off into the unknown hunting for more preys. Inside the theatre, everyone was dressed pretty formally, so wearing a jacket and berms, i knew i was seriously underdressed. So spent my entire evening walking around looking like an Asian idiot. In fact i spotted one man who looked like James Bond in casino royale. No kidding. Oh well, its a rehearsal. So... about the story.

The 3 hours play was splitted into 2 parts, with a half hour break in between. Before i start to regurgitate the story, i must declare that i have no freaking idea what the story was about before it began, didn;t bother to read up or ask around. Also, the play was in italian, so i heard. While there were GERMAN subtitles, its still a foreign language to me. So here is what i have understood from the so called popular piece. Oh last thing to add, we got seats at the top of the theatre. Row 1 it says, got us excited for a while till we saw our seats. Lets just say i had to twist my neck like a tortise stuck in a cage trying to eat a carrot placed on the side of its face. Why am i even complaining...SO please bear with me if my story sounds a little strange..

A little background about the play, the story took place in ancient Eygpt, when kings still wear really tall hats with blue and yellow stripes! ;) The play began with the orchestra playing in the foreground and out came 4 men in body wrapping golden costume standing in attention. Then appeared another man also in tight fitting black costume who walked to one of the four men and tapped on his shoulders. Radames, the fat guy who was tapped is the lead actor, loved by 2 women, Aida, and the daughter of the king of Eygpt. Love rivalry, ain't you excited already?! Anyway, came a war scene and the fat guy remained the last guy standing with his bloodstained sword in the air. Followed by the appearance of a couple on super high golden heels. They were the King and the Queen (i thought) followed by a group of men in black and white robes. Couldn't tell if they were from the same clan. So the king came and rewarded the fat guy (i shall call him that for easy reference) with slaves . Thats when Aida, the lead actress first appeared. I think shes one of the slaves which the King threw out to reward the fat guy for his victorious fight against the Feind (enemy). For a moment, came more men in black tight fitting costumes dancing with swords in hand around the slaves, seemingly doing a slaughtering motion. Couldn't tell if the slaves were killed as they were running all over the place. Oh i think i have forgotten to mention that there was a revolving background setting piece in the middle of the stage which changes shape while it revolved. For the next half hour, i was busy trying to decipher the german subtitles, while men in different coloured robes move around in the background and the fat guy and the 2 women singing at the top of their voices. =x Really abstract eh!

Second part was easier to understand. This time round with a strained neck and numbed arms (had to rest my head on my arms against the rail), i decided to move to another part of the theatre. So now the stage is directly infront of me, but being so high up, i had to bend forward from my seat to get a better view. So it looked as if i was on a racing bike, with my ass almost leveled with my eyes. But it was easier to live with than a strained neck. The curtains drew and came Aida with her father on the revolving center piece. Apparently the fat guy loves her more than the daughter of the king for certain unknown reason. So they had to flee from their country in order to be together like every other love story. However when Aida told her dad about her escape plan, her dad fell to his knees, grabbing his chest and then drop dead. Of course not before a whole lot of singing. Shocked, Aida ran to his side and told him that she has changed her mind. Immediately after that, her dad stood up weakly and went into hiding as the fat guy came into the scene. Not too sure why he had to hide from the fat guy. Aida changed her mind again as fat guy approached, telling him how they two of them should flee into the woods where they can live happily ever after. Being a victorious warrior who was rewarded with slaves by the king, he was full of emotions as he would be a traitor if he runs away. So another 15 mins of pulling and hugging and singing before the troops came. They have been sent by the king's daughter of course who saw them trying to escape. The general of the army came and kept calling the fat guy a traitor, asking why he as a hero, would betray the holy land of Eygpt. The king's daughter (who turned out to be the same girl who walked out with the king in the earlier scene, so she was not the queen, but the daughter..) who was still deeply in love with the fat guy, wanted to save him. For the next 20 mins, the fat guy went about how he could no longer live without Aida, and the king's daughter ranting that shes now the only one who could rescue him from death. Next scene, fat guy was killed and went to heaven, where he saw a bloody Aida. Lots of hugging and singing before Aida died again in heaven. Something which i still can't comprehend till now. With a dead Aida in his arms, the fat guy sang the last line before the lights dimmed out...

ok the ending was a little rushed out as its already 1 am, and i just finished my dinner. haven't bathed and feeling a litte tired. I would say the play was enjoyable, admittedly the high pitch singing was moving (literally my goosebumps). Not forgetting the orchestra which did an excellent job in creating the mood for the play. Must say, a night worth mentioning in my blog.