Iasi. Capital of Moldavia. Sadly, only of half of the historical Moldavia, the other half, which stretches between the rivers Prut and Dniester, being separated by an unwanted and artificial border because of the Russian greed, after it went through horrible periods from 1812 on, when it was snatched by the hungry tsar. Actually, by two borders, as in the north there is the CernÄƒuti region, and to the south Bugeac (spreading from Chilia to the Romanian border), both of them Moldavian first, and then intensely Russified during and after the Second World War by the most insatiable of all.

Also known as "the town on the 7 hills" - because it lies on 7 hills :-) - the Romanian capital during the difficult period of 1916-1918 is a powerful cultural centre, probably the second biggest in Romania after Bucharest. In Iasi there is the Palace of Culture, one of the most beautiful buildings in Romania, in top three, in my opinion, together with the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest and Peles Castle in Sinaia.

Other important landmarks from the "sweet town of Iasi" - yes, I, too, use this stereotype... sweet - are "Trei ierarhi (Three Bishops) " Church, the Metropolitan Church, "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, aka "the Opera", the city hall - all close to the Palace of Culture, on Stephen the Great boulevard, then Copou park - where there is Eminescu`s linden three and the Obelisk with lions (the oldest in the country), the statue of Michael the Great in Copou, the group of staues representing the rullers, at the beginning of Copou boulevard, the Botanical Garden in Copou and the University, in Giulesti. Pardon me, situated, of course, in Copou. :-)
In Copou, too - where otherwise? :-) - is the stadium, but there it`s not worth the effort to go even when they play footbal :-) ... or the imitation of football found in Romania.

Iasi University is the oldest in the country. It was founded in 1860 by Alexandru Ioan Cuza (whose name it is wearing now), who 4 years later united Moldavia and Wallachia, also founding the University of Bucharest. In the University there is a famous area, beautifully named, "the hall of the lost steps ", a very wide and long hall, with paintings, some of which very interesting, by Sabin Balasa.

Great "opera" names in Iasi: the mezzo-soprano Viorica Cortez ("the Frenchwoman from Iasi", the sweet name she gave herself), the soprano Mioara Cortez, the soprano Elena Mosuc (another sweet personalitaty :-) ), the musicologist Iosif Sava, and from a wider area - more Moldavian :-) - but not at all exhaustive: the composer Ciprian Porumbescu and tenor Teodor IlincÄƒi (from MÄƒlini village, Suceava county), the soprano Angela Gheorghiu (originary from Adjud), the sopranos Nelly Miricioiu (also from Adjud), and Ileana Cotrubas (from Galati). And Adrian Porumboiu (from Vaslui). Actually, no, this guy was a socker referee and only played the whistle. :-) ) )

The Opera and the National Theatre are in the same 720 seats building. The tickets for "Aida" were sold in only 2 days, their prices ranging between 10 and 60 lei, and the lady from the tickets agency told me that usually spectators from the nearby towns book tickets and attend the show, namely from Suceava, Pascani, Botosani, Bacau, New York... Hmmm, I think she didn`t mention New York, though. :-)

I first went to the Iasi Opera in 2005, when I saw "Paiate". It was an intense weekend, with a football match, three theatre plays, opera, sightseeing, a visit to the Botanical Garden, and all these in three days! At that time the building of the Opera looked old and untidy.

The second time I`ve got to the Iasi Opera only now, after 10 years and several days! The appearance of the theatre building is totally different - in the meantime it has been renovated and looks very good. At the entrance, the combination of white and light green prevails, and over them there are patterns of golden, small tridimentional faces, statues, leaves or just flower patterns (I don`t know why green... a matter of taste. I like nature, the woods, the grass, but green is not really suitable for the opera...). At the entrance, two young ladies in dark-coloured evening dresses, and inside a fierce madam who notices my camera and tells me not to take pictures. :-) (I swear I didn`t intend... when you write an article it`s forbidden to do research...)

The interior is predominantly red (the chairs, the walls of the lodges) with golden (the walls between the lodges, the arcade in front of the scene, the patterns on the ceiling), and the ceiling has a few paintings framed by golden patterns, while in the centre hangs a chandelier matching the size of the hall. Also on the ceiling there is a basrelief with two naked female angels... now, focus on the opera, if you can! :-)

Cream-colored background, a lot of wood, and in the centre a long corridor that creates the senzation of depth. Two stairs with many steps (like those for getting into a plane) are placed to the right and to the left, facing the back of the scene. At the end of the corridor a spotlight lights Radames and the Great Priest, who slowly come towards the front.
"Celeste Aida". Radames`s voice doesn`t impress me.
"I`ll build you a throne by the sun! " The words don`t impress me, either. :-)
Amneris is red-haired and has a long dress with a lot of shiny golden and a little shiny light purple. Aida, purple long dress with some wavy dark-pink patterns, black long hair over which she has a wide dark-golden fillet.
The Egyptian soldiers are in dark-grena, some of them in dark-orange, with purple belts and are holding spears. The priests are in white and grey clothes, with a vertical pattern. The faraoh is a golden tide, is holding Egyptian symbols - the ancient hammer and sickle :-) - and on the head has a crown like a big turban.
Sumarising, the costums try to keep the Egyptian style, but intend to have a modern aspect, through illogical, but in general satisfactory combinations of cuts and colours.

The pharaoh doesn`t have a throne, he stands, up, at the top of the left-side stairs, the Great Priest being positioned simetrically on top of the right-side stairs.
"Ritorna vincitor " - "Intoarce-te un cuceritor! " - "Come back a winner! "

"Immenso Phta" - "MÄƒretze Phta! " - "Great Phta! "
The translation is slightly funny and has the sweet local shade.
Two rows of priestesses are coming through the middle aisle, a flame is burning in the background. The priests come and arrange in the V-shape of a roof, then comes Radames, who receives the crest first, then the leader sword. The end of the ceremony is booming, the Great Priest throws some powder in the fire, causing some cracking sparks. It is the Great Phta`s New Year`s Eve party! :-)
"Immeeenso Phtaa! " - "MÄƒreeetzulee Phtaa! " - "Greeeat Phta! " :-)

From the ceiling is descended a kind of gate, a change of background a little bit inappropriate. Amneris is now in violet-navy blue, combined with golden. Her servants have long dresses, dark turquoise with light blue, the pages are wearing short red skirts, the upper part transparent grena, red skull-cups on the head, long black tails, painted faces. The little negroes seem friendly, dressed the same way like the pages...
"TremurÄƒ, sclavÄƒ ticÄƒloasÄƒ! " - "Shudder, villain slave! "

To the triumphal sound of the "Triumphal March" also contribute six guys with long trompets, three to the left and three to the right, on the scene, who give power to an already powerful scene. What I didn`t like, but I don`t blame the organizers for it, was the parade on rhythm. I had always wanted to see this, almost anywhere it isn`t mounted like this, I`ve seen it now, but the soldiers` steps on the rhythm of the music make them look like broken little robots. But the dance, it, too, having all the movements precisely synchronized on the "beats" of the music (I am refering to the instrumental following the "Triumphal March"), goes well and looks very good.

Radames is brought in on the palanquin, Amneris gives him the (golden) laurels crown on a tray. The prizoners are some children, including girls, Radames is a great saviour of the homeland because he conquered the... youth! :-) I mean the Ethiopian kindergarden, not "Junimea" ("the Youth") from Iasi. ;-) Mihai Eminasro... I mean Amonasro :-) has a black skirt with golden, a dark violet cloak, in front with some chain mail - as he was described in "Convorbiri literare etiopiene" ("Ethiopian literary conversations") magazine. :-)

On the canvas-curtain there is an image of Bahlui river :-) and a huge moon, orange, which leaves a trail on the water. On the sides there are two kind of square columns. Priestesses in white and grey precede Amneris, who has the same clothing like in the first act and who comes in a wooden boat to the temple of the godess Isis from Copou. :-)

Aida has in addition a kind of light blue-greenish gown with golden patterns.
"O, tara mea, nu te voi mai revedea niciodata! " - "O, my country, I`ll never see you again! "

"Vei vedea din nou inmiresmatele paduri! " - "You will see again the scented woods! "
"Stiu ca-l astepti pe Radames aici! " - "I know you are waiting for Radames here! "

"Sa fugim de neospitalitatea acestor campuri sterile! " -
"Let`s run away from the inhospitality of these baren fields! "

"Cheile Napata! " - "The Napata gorges! "

Amneris exposes Radames, Amonasro tries to kill her, but I don`t know from where or why he already has a knife, although he is just a slave. Could it be that the magnificent Stephen the Great used to equip his prisoners with cold weapons and hence the "local tradition"? :-) The oarsmen appear and Amneris runs away in a boat, protected by the bobbies-oarsmen organised like the security and protection services. The soldiers chase Amonasro and leave the Great Priest unprotected and alone with Radames the traitor, who, being a warrior, therefore trained to fight, and also armed, could have easily killed him instead of surrendering. The direction was based on the libretto, Radames surrendered, and the Priest became dictatorial, ordering Radames through a gesture made with his index to enter the temple, but what if Radames had said "Niet! "? :-)

In black with some golden pattterns on the lower part is Amneris, entirely in black, in a sort of robe, long to the ground, is Radames, who is also wearing black traditional pants. At the back there is a wooden frame in the shape of a football goal representing the temple. While the two of them are singing, two soldiers are bringing in what seems to be a podium.

"Si in puterea lor eu insami l-am predat! " - "And to their power I, myself, have delivered him! "
The priests come, holding an arm stretched in front of them, holding a black object (only the back of it can be seen), which looks like an A4 sheet of paper held vertically. They are in two groups, enter from the lateral-front side and cross the scene in an X-shaped route, exiting through the lateral-back side, then reappearing upstaires, on top of the stairs. Radames is brough in by two soldiers, left on the podium, his back towards the public. The priests are up, their arms stretched, the "A4 sheet of paper" is like a piece of velvet, light cream-coloured, I think.
"TrÄƒÄƒdÄƒtoor! " - "Traitor! "
The Priests throw away the cream-coloured "sheet of paper", and on a dark green background remains another one, on which is drawn a wolf head.
"TrÄƒÄƒdÄƒtoor! " - "Traitor! "
They trow them away, too, only the black ones remain, which are plain, without patterns.
"TrÄƒÄƒdÄƒtoor! " - "Traitor! "
The priests leave the upper floor and reappear downstairs, holding the A4 black velvet of the death conviction in the arms stretched forward.
"Este un tradator, trebuie sa moara! " - "He is a traitor, he has to die! "

All of them leave the scene, except Radames, who is framed by a wooden wall made of two sliding doors.
"La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse! Non rivedro piu Aida." - "Piatra fatala s-a inchis peste mine! Niciodata n-o voi mai revedea pe Aida! " - "The fatal stone closed over me! I will never see Aida again! "
Aida opens the doors and enters.
"O terra, addio, addio, valle di pianti" - "Ramas bun, vale a plangerii! " - "Farewell, valey of tears! "
Amneris was climbing up over them through the back, holding a pot with a burning flame. He puts it down, and at the end covers it with a black piece of fabric, simbolically extinguishing the Radames`s flame of life, the way he had previously done it in reality.

Summary
Aida is an Ethiopian girl who is a slave at the Egyptians. In a big misfortune, she fell in love with no other but her main enemy, the leader of the Egyptian armies. He was also in love with her, but the mischance for the two of them was that this young man was loved by an important faraoh daughter, and it`s not good at all to cross her, a gentlewoman of such high stature!
Radames goes to war and and makes three nill with the Egyptians, also taking prisoner the manager of the adverse team, who, great wonder in these films, was Aida`s father.
He doesn`t get accustomed to the status of prisoner, so he persuades Aida to find out from Radames the Egyptians` war secrets. She succeeds, but all of them are caught red-handed by the main enemy, the big leader`s daughter. Radames is jailed imediately for twenty-nine days and sent to trial for high treason and other crimes. He is found guilty and thrown alive in prison. There he sings all alone until Aida steps forward from the shadows, having counted with a ninety-nine percent certainty that he was going to be wiped out of Terra`s surface through this awful method of death. Both of them sing their misery until they die, while Amnerisa, the faraoh`s beloved daughter, implores Isis to forgive Rademes`s sins and to save his soul.

Distribution:
Aida: Simona Titieanu
Radames: Marius Budoiu (Opera NationalÄƒ RomÃ¢nÄƒ Cluj-Napoca)
Amneris: Marinela Nicola
Ramfis: Octavian Vlaicu (Opera NationalÄƒ RomÃ¢nÄƒ Timisoara)
Amonasro: Oleg Ionese (Opera NationalÄƒ RomÃ¢nÄƒ Cluj-Napoca)
Egypt`s King: Daniel Mateianu
The Great Priestess: Ana Maria Donose
The messenger: Andrei Apreotesei

Conductor: Gabriel Bebeselea
Director: AndrÃ¡s Kï¿½rthy (Ungaria)
Theatrical scenery: Laszlo Szekely (Ungaria)
Costumes: Zsuzsanna Kiss (Ungaria)
Choreography: Adrian Muresan (Opera MaghiarÄƒ Cluj-Napoca)
Choir conductor: Manuel Giugula
The conductor of Juniorii Operei children choir: Raluca Zaharia
Theatrical scenery assistent: Attila Venczel (Opera MaghiarÄƒ Cluj-Napoca)
Direction assistants: Evelin HalmÃ¡gyi, Anca SerbÄƒnutÄƒ, Eduard Sveatchevici

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