Lucas Benjaminh Krech

Aida, a classic example of grand opera, is here reconceived as a chamber opera. The action takes place in a building resembling The Whitehouse or other contemporary residence of a head of state.

By placing the action in such a familiar context, it allowed us to explore the human relationships at the core of this grand opera.

Reducing the scale of the production to a more human level we employed more subtile approaches to storytelling. The performances became more real.

The lighting had to find a balance between the realism of the production and the inherent heightened reality of opera. We balanced naturalistic motifs and the use of practical lighting fixtures with very stylized sidelighting and pools of light.