Photos:
1-6: Courtesy of San Francisco Opera, Cory Weaver, 2016.
7-8: Courtesy of Washington National Opera, Scott Suchman, 2017
9: Courtesy of Seattle Opera, Philip Newton, Dancer: Laura Mead, 2018
10: Courtesy of Seattle Opera, Jacob Lucas, 2018
Video: Footage from San Fransisco Opera, with still images from Washington National Opera and Seattle Opera.
Aida (Opera)
AIDA by Giuseppe Verdi
San Francisco Opera Premiere 2016
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti, Jordi Bernàer
Directed by Francesca Zambello
Choreographer: Jessica Lang
Assistant to the Choreographer: Clifton Brown
Designers: RETNA and Michael Yeargan (sets), Anita Yavich (costumes), Mark McCullough (lighting)
AIDA premiered at San Francisco Opera, November 5, 2016.
World Premiere Cast: Leah Crocetto, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Brian Jagde, George Gagnidze, Raymond Aceto, Anthony Reed, Toni Marie Palmertree, Pene Pati
"An unexpected highlight was Jessica Lang's choreography, woven through the work"
- Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, September 11, 2017
"Jessica Lang’s choreography, elegantly performed by members of her company, added much to the production, particularly in the way it turned the triumph march into something like the revolution-touting ballets of Mao’s China—a compelling image of determined exhortation that didn’t need even a single hoof of wildlife."
—Tim Smith, Opera News, September 9, 2017
"Still the opera would not have attained its robustness without the dynamic dancing of Jessica Lang’s company that was integrated so beautifully into the show. Smartly the choreographer drew on sources other than clichéd Egyptian-like posturing in profile."
- Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene, September 11, 2017
"Despite the famous grandiosity of the opera, this show never feels static, largely because of Jessica Lang’s imaginative choreography."
- Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times, May 7, 2018
"Above all, though, it’s the potent choreography by Jessica Lang that shocks us...The usually irrelevant dance sequences of French grand opera are, finally, put to good thematic use."
-Lisa Hirsch, San Fransisco Classical Voice, November 8, 2016
"...showing the audience something revelatory comes in the famous Triumphal March of Act 2, in which the Egyptian army returns victorious from an engagement with the Ethiopian forces. Here, choreographer Jessica Lang’s taut, confrontational ballet sequence underscores the implications of that victory by depicting — in stylized but unmistakable form — the rapes that accompany military conquest. There’s a telling invention, too, in the cadre of young boys that entertain Amneris in her chambers with a display of martial arts, and reprise it during the Triumphal March. You can see with uncommon clarity a society bringing up its young men as fighters."
- Joshua Kosman, The San Fransisco Chronicle, Novmber 6, 2016
Aida was premiered by San Francisco Opera in November, 2016.
Performance History:
San Francisco Opera, November 6 - December 5, 2016
Washington National Opera September 9 - September 23, 2017
Seattle Opera May 5- May 19, 2018
LA Opera May 21- June 12, 2021
Lyric Opera of Chicago March 9 - April 7, 2024
Washington National Opera October 24 - November 2, 2025