Aida (The Black Dog Opera Library)

The Black Dog Music Library presents Guiseppe Verdi's Aida, featuring Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Mario Sereni, and Grace Bumbry and the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma under the direction of Zubin Mehta. An Angel/EMI compact disc set, accompanied by the complete libretto with unabridged English translations and minute-by-minute commentary and information on the composer, the music, and the performance.

Giuseppe Verdi's masterful Aida is carried much more by the music than by the story line (enslaved Ethiopian princess loves Egyptian general, wins him away from Egyptian princess, gets him to betray his country, and then elects to die with him). The splendid arias and choruses, and the pathos and heroic bombast of Verdi's score are unmatched. Here, Black Dog Opera Library offers a highly affordable and reasonably comprehensive guide to the production. The volume contains an interesting and well-written essay, lots of pictures, the libretto in both English and Italian, and a complete recording of the opera on compact disc.

The energetic recording, made by EMI/Angel Records in 1967 and remastered for release on CD in 1979, offers the laser-voiced Aida of Birgit Nilsson, abandoning her Nordic Strauss-Wagner mantle in favor of the more Italianate vocalism of the Ethiopian princess. If it's not her very best role, the power that Nilsson brings to the part is impressive. This recording would be worth owning simply for the outstanding contribution of tenor Franco Corelli, who is at the top of his form as a clarion-voiced Radames. The fine Amneris and Amonasro of mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry and baritone Mario Sereni, respectively, are also standouts. Zubin Mehta conducts his soloists, the chorus, and the orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma with youthful enthusiasm.