Tim Rice and Elton John’s Aida

Say the word Aida and it immediately conjures up images of pyramids, animals, huge sets and lavish costumes. Generally known to audiences through Giuseppe Verdi's 1871 opera and based on a story by Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, the tale of star-crossed lovers is in turn loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

This stage musical, written by Elton John and Tim Rice, played on Broadway from 2000 until 2004, yet it’s not terribly well known. Bringing this lovely piece to Adelaide is an admirable undertaking by director Lauren Scarfe and the Hills Musical Company.

The story begins and ends in modern day Egypt, where we see tourists visiting a temple site. It’s a beautiful way of implying to the audience that maybe there is something to the reincarnation and after-life belief of the ancient Egyptians.

We firstly meet Radames (Lindsay Prodea), returning from a successful military expedition into Nubia, with several Nubian captives. One of them is the Nubian princess Aida (Rebecca Raymond), whom Radames presents as gift to his fiancée, Princess Amneris (Tegan Gully). It takes a while for Radames to find out Aida is nobility, but not before he falls in love with her. Meanwhile, his father Zoser (Chris Eaton), a minister to the Pharaoh (Brad Martin), is scheming to steal the throne for his son, slowly poisoning the ruler with arsenic from the local copper mines. The plot of AIDA is relatively simple, but focuses well on the intimate relationship which develops between Radames and Aida.

This production is not perfect, but it is elevated superbly by the three leads. Prodea, Raymond and Gully are a triple ‘tour de force’. Their stunning vocals, beautiful characterisation and stage presence make this show. They alone are worth the trip to Stirling.

Rebecca Raymond’s Aida is naturally radiant, with a voice of great beauty and variety. The honesty, nobility and steadiness of Raymond’s acting go a long way toward making Aida’s dilemma moving. The depth of power and resonance in her voice and her diction is flawless. Her crowning moment for me was “Easy as Life”, an amazingly passionate solo.

Likewise, Lindsay Prodea gives a poignant and powerful performance as Radames. His acting is strong and masculine, his vocals powerful and emotionally charged - one of the best performances I have seen from him. The chemistry between Raymond and Prodea is electric and real.

Tegan Gully is fabulous as the superficial and self-obsessed princess with a fashion fixation, who grows and matures to a wise ruler. Gully is eminently watchable and her vocals as storyteller and throughout the show are lovely.

A highlight for this reviewer was “A Step Too Far” - a three-voice ballad with overlapping lyrics delivered beautifully by these three performers.

A fine supporting performance is given by Daniel Steven as Mereb, a Nubian slave who has refined the art of theft and bribes. Mereb is an appealing character, played with humor and charm by Stevens. His duet with Aida - “I know you” - showcased a beautiful voice.

As Zoser, I felt Chris Eaton’s vocals and characterisation sometimes missed the mark. Whether it was opening night nerves after a hiatus from the stage or not, his vocals were occasionally pitchy, but he certainly has presence as the plotting minister.

Brad Martin as Pharaoh is strong and convincing, as is Howard Raymond as Amonasro, although some dialogue was a little hard to understand on opening night.

The Ensemble works hard throughout the show, with a standout performance and great vocals by Kathryn Driver as Nehebka, a slave girl.  Dancing is patchy in places. Some of the male ensemble clearly struggle with the dance numbers. Having said that, Thomas Phillip’s choreography is on the whole interesting and fits the very varied styles of music well. The emotionally charged scene where Nehebka sacrifices herself is well executed.

The Orchestra, led by MD Kristy Williamson is generally solid. Some parts of the show are a little thin but they handle the very eclectic styles in Elton John’s score well.

The set is very simple, intentionally so, because, to quote the Director- “the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian History ……was much less elaborate than later eras.”

However, this minimalism lets the show down a little. The constant scratching of a scrim being drawn back and forth across the stage to create different scenes is distracting and the temple backdrop, whilst beautifully painted, is too static.

Costume design (a team of people led by Lauren Scarfe) is also quite eclectic. Using semi-modern clothing is a great idea, and the goal of rooting them in a historic setting is partly achieved, but the costumes are too inconsistent. The sandy, earthy palette heightens the simplicity and naturalness of the Nubian slave costumes and the dark robes of the black ministers are good, but I could not reconcile the ‘gorilla chest shields’ on the soldiers, particularly on Radames as Captain.

There are a few nice lighting moments (Tim Bates), but the lighting could be more dynamic, given the static set.

Whilst there are elements of Aida that need enrichment, it is constantly lifted by soaring vocal performances and some outstanding moments by supporting actors. The audience reaction on opening night was one of delight and enthusiasm.

The Hills Musical Company works hard to bring to the stage fresh new musicals or interesting slants on old ones. Whilst not a deep musical, the ‘poppy’ score of Tim Rice and Elton John’s AIDA and enthusiastic performances by all are very enjoyable.

A very warming love story on a crisp Stirling evening.

Review by Shelley Hampton

Photographer: Andy Trimmings