After Aida
Encyclopedia
After Aida is a 1985 play-with-music by Julian Mitchell
. It is about Giuseppe Verdi
, and the pressure put upon him after his attempt to retire from composing. Continued insistent prodding from his friends eventually results in one of his greatest masterpieces, the opera Otello
.
, commissioned the play, originally as a vehicle for the company's touring season to far-flung Welsh towns with smaller theatres than the average opera house. McMaster initially asked Julian Mitchell, author of the hit play-turned-film Another Country
, to write about the backstage life of an opera company. Mitchell, although he had been an opera fan in his youth, knew little about this milieu when he began working on the project.
In the course of his extensive research, however, Mitchell happened on "Boito and Verdi", the final chapter in Frank Walker's biography The Man Verdi. This was a dramatic situation that immediately appealed to Mitchell—"a great artist going through a crisis, brought back to composition after a long silence, and finding himself a substitute prodigal son in the process"—and he took it as his subject matter.
To familiarize himself with backstage and off-stage opera life, Mitchell took singing lessons, attended opera rehearsals and auditions, and talked to conductors, singers, directors, répétiteur
s, and designers. Mitchell said he found the restrictions placed on the piece—small stage, single set, and only a few actors—actually became liberating, and helped him create a well-crafted and artistically sound play.
Verdi's two friends, Giulio Ricordi
the publisher and Franco Faccio
the conductor, convinced that Verdi should write another opera, try to persuade him to come out of retirement and collaborate with the young librettist Arrigo Boito
on a new work. One likely subject for a new opera is the play Othello
, since Shakespeare is one of Verdi's favourite authors. Verdi's wife Giuseppina Strepponi
, tired of seeing him moping about, also assists in the attempt to get Verdi composing again.
The play focuses on this major turning point in Verdi’s creative life, and combines it with a selection of opera excerpts, drama, and humor. The production is punctuated with full arias and vocal ensembles from Aida
, Rigoletto
, Ernani
, the Requiem
, Macbeth
, Simon Boccanegra
, and Otello
. Also included are arias from Boito's Mefistofele
and Rossini's Otello
.
, Wales, at the Taliesin Theatre
. As planned, the production then toured to 11 other towns and cities throughout Wales.
The production starred Richard Griffiths
(Verdi) and Ian Charleson
(Boito), with a supporting cast that included four singers from the Welsh National Opera. It was directed by Howard Davies, and the music director was Martin Andre. The show was produced by Robert Fox
with Ed
and David Mirvish
.
After Aida received its London
premiere at the Old Vic
theatre, opening on 11 March 1986. Giuseppina Strepponi was played by Gemma Jones
, and the other cast members remained the same, except for a new cast of WNO singers.
Additional performers, from the Welsh National Opera:
The 1986 London cast was the same except for Gemma Jones
, who played Giuseppina Strepponi. The singers, from the WNO, were as follows: sopranos Elizabeth Collier and Christine Teare, mezzo-sopranos Beverley Mills and Wendy Verco, tenors John Harris and Mark Hamilton, baritones Henry Newman and Steven Page, and pianists Martin Andre and Michael Lloyd.
review said "the plot ... is quite riveting.... For all that we know the outcome, it has us on tenterhooks!” The play has occasionally been compared to Amadeus
, with After Aida being noted for its accuracy, thoughtfulness, and erudition, and Amadeus having the edge in terms of raw dramatic impact.
After Aida was published in 1986 by Amber Lane Press.
Julian Mitchell
Julian Mitchell FRSL , full name Charles Julian Humphrey Mitchell, is an English playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist...
. It is about Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, and the pressure put upon him after his attempt to retire from composing. Continued insistent prodding from his friends eventually results in one of his greatest masterpieces, the opera Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
.
Background and inception
Brian McMaster, managing director of the Welsh National OperaWelsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, commissioned the play, originally as a vehicle for the company's touring season to far-flung Welsh towns with smaller theatres than the average opera house. McMaster initially asked Julian Mitchell, author of the hit play-turned-film Another Country
Another Country (play)
Another Country is a play written by English playwright Julian Mitchell that premiered in 1981 at the Greenwich Theatre in south-east London and later transferred to the West End in March 1982. In the summer of 2000 the play was revived at The Oxford Playhouse. From 4 September 2000 until 28...
, to write about the backstage life of an opera company. Mitchell, although he had been an opera fan in his youth, knew little about this milieu when he began working on the project.
In the course of his extensive research, however, Mitchell happened on "Boito and Verdi", the final chapter in Frank Walker's biography The Man Verdi. This was a dramatic situation that immediately appealed to Mitchell—"a great artist going through a crisis, brought back to composition after a long silence, and finding himself a substitute prodigal son in the process"—and he took it as his subject matter.
To familiarize himself with backstage and off-stage opera life, Mitchell took singing lessons, attended opera rehearsals and auditions, and talked to conductors, singers, directors, répétiteur
Répétiteur
Répétiteur , repetitore , or Korrepetitor / Repetitor , originally from the French verb répéter meaning "to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse"....
s, and designers. Mitchell said he found the restrictions placed on the piece—small stage, single set, and only a few actors—actually became liberating, and helped him create a well-crafted and artistically sound play.
Synopsis
The two-act play spans the years from 1879 to 1887, and centers around the composer Verdi and his life and works after he has retired from composing and moved to his country estate.Verdi's two friends, Giulio Ricordi
Giulio Ricordi
Giulio Ricordi was an Italian editor and musician.-Biography:Ricordi was born in Milan, where he also died....
the publisher and Franco Faccio
Franco Faccio
Franco Faccio was an Italian composer and conductor.-Biography:Born in Verona, Faccio became known as a conductor of Verdi's music. He studied music at the Milan Conservatory where he was a pupil of Stefano Ronchetti-Monteviti...
the conductor, convinced that Verdi should write another opera, try to persuade him to come out of retirement and collaborate with the young librettist Arrigo Boito
Arrigo Boito
Arrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's operas Otello and Falstaff, and his own opera Mefistofele...
on a new work. One likely subject for a new opera is the play Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, since Shakespeare is one of Verdi's favourite authors. Verdi's wife Giuseppina Strepponi
Giuseppina Strepponi
Clelia Maria Josepha Strepponi was a nineteenth century Italian operatic soprano of great renown and the second wife of composer Giuseppe Verdi...
, tired of seeing him moping about, also assists in the attempt to get Verdi composing again.
The play focuses on this major turning point in Verdi’s creative life, and combines it with a selection of opera excerpts, drama, and humor. The production is punctuated with full arias and vocal ensembles from Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
, the Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
, Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
, and Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
. Also included are arias from Boito's Mefistofele
Mefistofele
Mefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.-Composition history:...
and Rossini's Otello
Otello (Rossini)
Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeare's play Othello....
.
Original productions
After Aida opened on 24 October 1985 in SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales, at the Taliesin Theatre
Taliesin Arts Centre
The Taliesin Arts Centre is owned and managed by the University of Wales, Swansea and is located on the university campus. The venue hosts a broad programme of events including cinema screenings, an average of ten visiting exhibitions per year, and a variety of live performances, from dance and...
. As planned, the production then toured to 11 other towns and cities throughout Wales.
The production starred Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
(Verdi) and Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev...
(Boito), with a supporting cast that included four singers from the Welsh National Opera. It was directed by Howard Davies, and the music director was Martin Andre. The show was produced by Robert Fox
Robert Fox (producer)
Robert Michael John Fox is an English theatre and film producer, whose work includes the 2002 film, The Hours.-Life and career:...
with Ed
Ed Mirvish
Edwin “Honest Ed” Mirvish, OC, CBE was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario...
and David Mirvish
David Mirvish
David Mirvish, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian art collector, art dealer, theatre producer and son of the late "Honest" Ed Mirvish, Toronto discount department store-owner and artist Anne Lazare Macklin....
.
After Aida received its London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
premiere at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
theatre, opening on 11 March 1986. Giuseppina Strepponi was played by Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
, and the other cast members remained the same, except for a new cast of WNO singers.
Original cast
- Richard GriffithsRichard GriffithsRichard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
– Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, Italy's greatest opera composer, happily retired - Ian CharlesonIan CharlesonIan Charleson was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev...
– Arrigo BoitoArrigo BoitoArrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's operas Otello and Falstaff, and his own opera Mefistofele...
, young opera librettist; a nervous, self-doubting, neurotic genius - Zoë WanamakerZoe WanamakerZoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
– Giuseppina StrepponiGiuseppina StrepponiClelia Maria Josepha Strepponi was a nineteenth century Italian operatic soprano of great renown and the second wife of composer Giuseppe Verdi...
, former renowned soprano and Verdi's second wife; a strong, intelligent woman devoted to her husband - Malcolm Storry – Giulio RicordiGiulio RicordiGiulio Ricordi was an Italian editor and musician.-Biography:Ricordi was born in Milan, where he also died....
, Verdi's publisher; a solid, urbane man and Boito's good friend - David LyonDavid Lyon (actor)David Lyon is a British stage, television, and film actor.Since 1976, Lyon has performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company. With them he has appeared in plays which include: Much Ado About Nothing, King John, Henry VI, The Winter's Tale, Troilus and Cressida, The Taming of the Shrew,...
– Franco FaccioFranco FaccioFranco Faccio was an Italian composer and conductor.-Biography:Born in Verona, Faccio became known as a conductor of Verdi's music. He studied music at the Milan Conservatory where he was a pupil of Stefano Ronchetti-Monteviti...
, Verdi's favourite conductor; a prodigiously talented musician and a great friend to Boito
Additional performers, from the Welsh National Opera:
- SopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
: Christine Teare - Mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
: Wendy Verco - TenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
: Michael Burch - Bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
: Jonathan Best - Pianist: Martin Andre
The 1986 London cast was the same except for Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
, who played Giuseppina Strepponi. The singers, from the WNO, were as follows: sopranos Elizabeth Collier and Christine Teare, mezzo-sopranos Beverley Mills and Wendy Verco, tenors John Harris and Mark Hamilton, baritones Henry Newman and Steven Page, and pianists Martin Andre and Michael Lloyd.
Critical reception and publication
After Aida has received largely favorable reviews, and has been praised for its intelligence, humor, and panache. The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
review said "the plot ... is quite riveting.... For all that we know the outcome, it has us on tenterhooks!” The play has occasionally been compared to Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
, with After Aida being noted for its accuracy, thoughtfulness, and erudition, and Amadeus having the edge in terms of raw dramatic impact.
After Aida was published in 1986 by Amber Lane Press.
Further reading
- Budden, JulianJulian BuddenJulian Medforth Budden, BA, BMus was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi , a single volume biography in 1982 and a single volume work on Giacomo Puccini and his operas in 2002...
, The Operas of Verdi, Volume III (3rd edition). New York: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1973. ISBN 0-19-816263-4 - Walker, Frank, The Man Verdi. New York: Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 1962. Chicago: The University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 1983 (paperback). ISBN 0-226-87132-0 - Werfel, FranzFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
and Paul Stefan (eds), Edward DownesEdward DownesSir Edward Thomas "Ted" Downes, CBE was an English conductor, specialising in opera.He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his long working relationship with the BBC Philharmonic and for working with the Netherlands...
(trans). Verdi: The Man and His Letters. New York: Vienna House, 1973. ISBN 0-8443-0088-8
External links
- Plays by Julian Mitchell on doollee.com Retrieved 10 September 2010