A sense of expectation hung over the Opéra Bastille before the curtain rose for the Sept. 24 opening night of Verdi’s Aida. The foyer murmured with anticipation, its audience drawn as much to Shirin Neshat’s controversial staging as to what promised to be an exceptional performance of Verdi’s masterpiece. If still little known in the opera world, in the art world, this affable, diminutive figure with striking coal-black eyes is a star. Her black-and-white calligraphed portraits, video installations, and films have been praised and presented in prestigious collections internationally for three decades. No wonder that among those present were gallerist Thaddaeus…