Aida & the ayatollahs - The New Criterion

Aida & the Ayatollahs at the Paris Opera

This fall, the Paris Opera revived its production of Aida, importing a staging from the 2017 Salzburg Festival. This choice surprised many who had seen it there. The production was created by Iranian visual artist, photographer, and film director Shirin Neshat, marking her opera directorial debut. It was initially designed for a special occasion: the soprano Anna Netrebko's first performance as Aida, conducted by Riccardo Muti.

Neshat’s Artistic Approach

Although new to opera direction, Neshat brought her notable artistic sensibility to the production. Film played a key role, especially black-and-white footage of migrants—mainly women dressed somberly near the sea. These sequences, however, sometimes felt tentative and peripheral to the main dramatic action.

Production Style and Reception

The staging generally aligned with Muti’s dislike for radical interpretations. Yet, Neshat's traditional "stand-and-sing" approach for the lead roles somewhat diluted this restraint. The Salzburg version was revived in 2022, reportedly with some changes.

Political and Cultural Commentary

In the Paris revival, Neshat, an advocate for women's rights, expanded her interpretation. She drew parallels between the opera’s priests—wearing flowing, ayatollah-style beards—and the hardline theocrats of Iran, her estranged homeland. This comparison heightened the sense of violence in the opera.

“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: Shirin Neshat’s staging of Aida at the Paris Opera blends visual art and political allegory, creating a thoughtful yet uneven production that highlights both cultural and gender issues.

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The New Criterion The New Criterion — 2025-11-06

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