The pictures were indeed pretty, but the music-making struggled to infuse them with life. The first sign of problems appeared early: Radamès, the Egyptian general besotted with Aida, the ...

Nilsson may be the most demure Aida ever to grace the Met stage. Her simple sheath instantly marks her as an outsider, but her regal bearing is that of a princess. Simplicity was Nilsson’s trump card, ...