"Here is an Aida your grandmother would have appreciated. In fact, the sets are a reproduction of the original 1913 sets as they first appeared at the Arena di Verona ... It still works ... with its brilliant colours, dancers with white fans, harpists in gold playing gold harps, this is a feast for the old-fashioned, museum-going eye ... While we've certainly heard better performances, we've also heard far worse ... The orchestra plays well and the chorus is sensational ... What more do you need?".