Metropolitan Opera- Attila

I had high hopes for this production of Attila, probably unrealistically high. With the involvement of celebrity level artists such as Miuccia Prada and Herzog & de Meuron, the expectations for a unique night of opera were high. Not that they severely disappointed, but the only remarkable aspect of the production was the music, conducted by Riccardo Muti.

The vision taken by the director, Pierre Audi, was to tell the story of Attila through a poetic, almost Grecian setting. The breathtaking opening set of a crumbled cement structure was beautifully touching, not only a monument to the devastation possible by man, but striking extra significance given the day’s earthquake that had just struck Chile. Below the cement structure chorus members were lying, scattered about, as if crushed in defeat by Attila’s army. Above stood the title character, as if proclaiming his superiority over the world. It was slightly overwhelming.

Unfortunately, the rest of the set design was stilted, and Ms. Prada’s iconic fashion personality was largely invisible next to the domineering sets. Mr. Audi chose to have the singers perform, while mostly standing still, amidst a large wall of shrubbery. The result was pretty, but if it were not for the music, I would have fallen asleep.

Riccardo Muti conducted a stylistically unique and organic performance, turning the orchestra into a living organism. Each note seemed to have a different accent to it, given the direction of the phrase, a direction that was always evident. Maestro Muti is a known champion of Verdi, and the orchestra played much more definitively than they have in any other Verdi opera this season. For the later part of the opera, I enjoyed myself much more when I closed my eyes. Mr. Audi’s gargantuan production distracted me from the brilliance coming out of the pit.

All the singers sang beautifully. Ildar Abdrazakov sang with a dark and forceful tone. Violeta Urmana let her huge voice roar, her shimmering sound reminded me of Leontyne Price. The tenor, Ramón Vargas, let all the stops out and directed his sound towards the last seats in the family circle. Musically, this evening was magnificent. Not to demote Mr. Audi’s artistic merit, but the production was just not nearly as exciting.