After 31 Years, Farewell to the Met Opera’s Grand, Gaudy ‘Aida ... Aida March 4 and 7 at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; 212-362-6000, metopera.org.

New York. You know you’re in trouble when a grand new production of Verdi’s “Aida” only catches fire midway through the second act, after the “Triumphal March”—when Amonasro shows up.

The Grand March, for example, which in the past has been extravagantly staged with pyramids and/or elephants, is turned into a theatrical display of choreographed military exercises to impress the ...