Within a few weeks of Bobbie’s and my first visit to the opera together, to see The Magic Flute…
…we went to see the opera spectacular that everyone was talking about that summer; Harvey Goldsmith’s Aida at the Earls Court Arena.
It was only running for a few nights with massive crowds. It was big news:
We went the night after Chuck & Di attended the Royal Gala evening – by all accounts an iconic event.
In truth, by the time we got there – indeed by the time Chuck and Di got there – the production had been hailed as somewhat disaster-prone:
from The Spectator 2 July 1988 – subscribers can click through to the archive and read the whole article.
I don’t recall it seeming like a disaster. I do recall it feeling more like being at a rock concert than at a theatrical production. I think we had good seats but were still at some distance from the action. It was big, bold and in truth not really me.
I don’t think this one was really Bobbie either – she might remember how she felt about it.
Below is Tom Sutcliffe’s Guardian review:
Tom Sutcliffe on Aida Tue, Jun 28, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.comHere is an entertaining clipping from the Observer Arts Diary a few days later:
Arts Diary Aida Sun, Jul 3, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com