Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Reginald Smith Jr., fresh from playing (older) Emile in Terence Blanchard's opera "Champion," is having a formidable 2024 on the Lyric Opera stage. In the role of Amonasro, King of Ethiopia, the formidable baritone with the walking stick functions as the moral conscience of director Francesca Zambello's staging of Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida," the first "Aida" at Lyric in more than a decade. This is a robust and fresh take that emphasizes civil strife and the geopolitical consequence of love affairs with enemies, rather than the personal tragedy of the love triangle between Radames (Russell Thomas), Amneris (Jamie Barton), and Aida (Michelle Bradley)."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...This latest take on the beloved classic brings together an impressive bevy of talent from the cast to the top-notch artistic team but somehow it doesn’t all quite add up. This production falls flat on many fronts, starting with the baffling and too-often frustrating staging."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...The artistic design work of RETNA abstracts hieroglyphs, calligraphy, and ideographs to create a visual language that impresses without speaking. Dances by Jessica Lang performed by a small army of soldiers and a single feminine figure (a bit drowned in the flowing pleats of her costume) provide light and balletic counterpoint to the stolidity of the staging, a visual testament to the homoerotic frivolity of war."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...This Aida is an experience for the senses of sight and sound and it is huge, a feast of contrasts and crowds, a kind of spectacle that is special and rare. While traditionalists may scoff at the modernistic twist here, at it’s heart and soul this is fine representation of Grand Opera."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Giuseppe Verdi’s 1871 opera Aida is famous for being one of the most mature works of one of the most popular and prolific opera composers. It contains sophisticated uses of all the devices Verdi had developed over a career of several decades and, being commissioned by the Egyptian monarch, budget was no object. Essentially, Verdi was given the freedom to do almost anything he wanted and had the skill to do it. But what interested Francesca Zambello, the director of the new-to-Chicago production at the Lyric, was how Aida alternates between the characters’ interior struggles and the performances they put on during public state events."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Aida’ returns to Lyric after a decade, and who better to revive it than world renown Verdi interpreter (and Lyric’s Music Director), Enrique Mazzola? Previously he’s conducted Verdi classics: ‘Luisa Miller’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Ernani’ and ‘Don Carlos’ and like those that came before, ‘Aida’ does not disappoint."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The production values in Aida are magnificent. Mark McCulloch's lighting design gives RETNA's elaborate hieroglyphic-inspired art more dimension. The lighting for the performers is also great. Aida has a multicultural cast and that cannot be easy to light. Speaking of a fine balance, chorus director Michael Black led a huge chorus for this production. They were in perfect sync with the lead singers. Verdi layered several melodies with the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and soldiers singing to celebrate Radamès' victory and the gift of Amneris' hand in marriage. There was magic in making it cohesive with a full sound."
