But production design alone can’t carry an opera – that requires good direction as well. The world of this Aida is a world of extreme war, where every man is either a priest or a soldier and women are colorfully dressed trophies. Those symbols, arrayed across walls, banners, and even swords and spears, blend the ancient and modern in a way that is appropriate for the opera. Hype about the production focused on the designs of the graffiti artist RETNA (Marquis Duriel Lewis), whose evocative symbols draw inspiration from hieroglyphs and calligraphy. Unfortunately, it didn’t have much to lure them in, either. I can only assume people rushed home to commiserate or celebrate with family and friends, as this Aida didn’t have anything to drive opera fans away. (By then, the outcome was clear.) Politics dominated lobby talk during the interval, and the second half of the opera had more empty seats than the first. Intermission saw a rush of phone-checking. By the 7:30pm PST curtain, the winner of the United States presidential election was still uncertain. 8 November 2016 was a strange night to be at the San Francisco Opera.
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