AIDA: Love Written in the Stars

The second offering of Atlantis Productions' 2011 season is Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a story about timeless love that will endure and continue on to the next life.

It is about Aida, a Nubian princess who was captured by Egyptian soldiers and was gifted as handmaiden by its captain, Radames, to his bethrothed Princess Amneris. The plot thickens when it was revealed that Radames' father, Minister Zoser who is the Pharaoh's adviser, has been slowly poisoning the king in order to accelerate Radames' ascend to the throne after his marriage to Amneris. What the minister did not count on was that his son fell in love with Aida, giving him reason to break the 9 long years of engagement.

Haji Alejandro as Zoser

When I watched the musical yesterday, I thought that it had a Disney feel to it. It was only last night that I found out after researching Aida that it was indeed from a book that Disney bought that they originally wanted to develop as an animated film following the successful collaboration of Elton John and Tim Rice in The Lion King.

Ima Castro (middle, in red) as Aida

Rachel Alejandro as Amneris

I was in awe of the talented cast of Aida -- Ima Castro as AIDA, the captured princess of Nubia turned handmaiden of Amneris, gave a heart-wrenching performance, hitting the high notes so well even in crying scenes; Rachel Alejandro as AMNERIS, fashionable princess of Egypt and fiancee to Radames, was fabulous for the role; Myke Salomon as RADAMES, captain of the Egyptian army, son of Zoser and fiancee to Amneris, was impressive beyond words; Hajji Alejandro as Zoser, scheming chief minister of Egypt and father of Radames, strutted the stuff that made him the "kilabot ng mga kolehiyalas" of his time; Alys Serdenia as NEHEBKA, Nubian slave who speaks to Aida as a representative for the Nubian people, brought out the fire in portraying the loyal and brave Nehebka; and Josh Santana as MEREB, Nubian servant to Radames and the first to recognize Aida as Princess of Nubia, was a nice surprise on stage as many have missed his talent when he left the entertainment industry some years ago.

Josh Santana (left) as Mereb and Myke Salomon (right) as Radames

Now on its 3rd and final week, catch Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Plaza in Makati until July 10. For tickets, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187, or Ticketworld at 891-9999. For more information, visit www.atlantisproductionsinc.com.

Photos from Atlantis Productions