Aida & the Ayatollahs
At the Paris Opera
The Paris Opera’s new season featured a revival of Aida, adapted from the 2017 Salzburg Festival’s production. This choice surprised many who had seen the original staging. The work was directed by Iranian artist, photographer, and filmmaker Shirin Neshat, marking her first venture into opera direction.
Concept and Execution
Neshat’s production was initially conceived for soprano Anna Netrebko’s debut as Aida, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Although lacking opera experience, Neshat brought her visual sensibility to the stage, incorporating monochrome film segments depicting migrants—primarily women dressed in dark garments near the shore. These sequences, while evocative, sometimes felt tangential to Verdi’s unfolding drama.
Directorial Approach
Beyond these cinematic moments, the staging largely adhered to Muti’s traditionalist outlook, avoiding radical reinterpretations. Yet Neshat’s direction often fell into a static “stand-and-sing” pattern, limiting the emotional rhythm between the protagonists. The Salzburg revival in 2022 introduced minor revisions, smoothing some of these issues.
Political and Personal Undercurrents
In the Paris Opera’s current presentation, Neshat—well known for her advocacy of women’s rights—seized the chance to refine her vision. By emphasizing the resemblance between the opera’s high priests and the stern theocrats of Iran, she underscored the themes of oppression and ritualized cruelty within the work.
Parallels between the opera’s priests—decked out with flowing, ayatollah-style beards—and the hardline theocrats of her estranged country made the opera’s violence more pronounced.
Author’s Summary
This revival of Aida at the Paris Opera deepened Shirin Neshat’s exploration of power, faith, and violence, merging her cinematic style with Verdi’s grand tradition.