Last week, I and a second intrepid photographer visited the props and costume rooms where parts of Aida are being prepared for the stage. Today we'll show you a few items from the props rooms, and the next post will focus on the costume rooms. These are the first images we're making available from the production, and while we don't want to give too much away, we hope you'll find them intriguing. If you've seen director Tim Albery's other acclaimed productions for the COC (which include War and Peace and Götterdämmerung), you know that his approach is likely to be anything but ordinary.

Albery and his designers have chosen a contemporary setting for the opera, and all the scenes take place in a luxurious and ostentatious palace in an unspecified war-torn country. The sets and costumes are meant to convey a society governed by the "nouveau riche", with lots of money and power but somewhat vulgar and outdated tastes. The lavish opulence of the surroundings will stand in contrast to the fundamental intimacy of the opera.

Our attention was first piqued by this shelf of metal helmets.

And this one in particular, with grated eye coverings.

Here's a closeup of the eye grate.

There was a large piece of furniture with a leaf design painted on it (shown here in closeup).

On a smaller scale, there was also a luxurious gold chair next to a trolley laden with fruit.

A second trolley was fully-stocked with treats (not for consumption, of course).

And finally, what would Aida be without palm trees?

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