Knowing that the Washington National Opera apparently does not believe in spending money on beautiful sets or costumes, I was apprehensive about how ugly the sets/costumes would be for Aida. This was especially after seeing the work of artist Retna who designed the sets for Aida. Well, it was a pleasant surprise to find that the spare, contemporary setting did not detract from the pleasure of the music and the story telling. The performances were excellent. Everyone sang well, but Yonghoon Lee, in the role of Radames, was outstanding. His acting really made me feel for the naive young hero who is torn between love for Aida and love for his country. And what a beautiful voice! Comparing this production to a more traditional Aida at the Met in NYC (many years ago) with animals, beautiful sets and costumes, I would say this DC performance is much more memorable - due to the excellence of the cast. I would strongly recommend that you catch this production of Aida.

When choosing to go almost ridiculously high concept in physical aesthetics it is helpful to pay closer attention to such mundain areas as the ballets. Considering that the design elements were harsh and martial, ballets that were classical and flitty were jarring. Likewise the almost impossibly clumsy stage movements of both the female leads. The voices were wonderful as was the music but the experience was dimmed by the ambiguous iconography of the stage design and the clumsiness of both the ballet and the principal females.

with the previous reviewer. The setting was horrible, dull. I did not like this "contemporary" setting, looks like the producers did not want to spend a penny on the staging set. Leading singers have good voices but should loose some weight. Ballet was the worst, looked like they were amateurs, choreography was very primitive. Cheap, unprofessional production. You would expect more from Kennedy Center. Lesson learned.

I am very disappointed with the aida opera I saw tonight. I am a subscriber oft the opera but I realized than lately the stanfard has lowered. The Kennedy Center should be the best on this kind of event. The Aida was poor in the stage to represent the place of events. The voice were impossible to understand The tone, phonetic, and pronunciation was really mediocre. I am Italian and I could barely understand few words. RADAMES acted without passion especially on the kiss with aida. It is really sad that the Kennedy center is not up to standard as it used to be. 09/09/17 Daniel D.F.