Backstage at rehearsals for Aida at the Royal Albert Hall
Raymond Gubbay's new production of Verdi's Aida, directed by Stephen Medcalf and designed by Isabella Bywater, transforms the Royal Albert Hall's arena into an archaeological site complete with Victorian-Edwardian Egyptologists, truncated columns, broken sculptures and piles of old stones, and features a huge cast of nearly 200 performers. Sarah Lee was allowed backstage access to photograph final rehearsals.