Name: Aida
Start: 2022-12-02T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2023-05-18T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Metropolitan Opera House

Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Anita Rachvelishvili

Amneris

Olesya Petrova

Stage director

Sonja Frisell

Set designer

Gianni Quaranta

Costume designer

Dada Saligeri

Lighting designer

Gil Wechsler

Conductor

Paolo Carignani

Choreographer

Alexei Ratmansky

Soprano

Latonia Moore

Aida

Michelle Bradley

Tenor

Brian Jagde

Radames

Marcelo Álvarez

Baritone

George Gagnidze

Amonasro

Quinn Kelsey

Luca Salsi

Bass

Christian Van Horn

Ramfis

Alexandros Stavrakakis

The King of Egypt

Krzysztof Bączyk

Brittany Olivia Logan

A high priestess

Amanda Batista

Matthew Cairns

A messenger

Kyle van Schoonhoven

Limmie Pulliam

Harold Wilson

Angela Meade

Leah Crocetto

Rafael Davila

Jorge de León

The Metropolitan Opera

Others

Metropolitan Opera Choir

Orchestra

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Italian

New York City

United States

Metropolitan Opera House

Aida Verdi

Public

English

German

Spanish

Approved

Aida TV Spot

"Gloria all' Egitto" from Verdi's AIDA, from the Met's "Live in HD"

Aida: "Gloria all' Egitto"

The mighty walls and towering monuments of ancient Egypt once again fill the Met stage, as Verdi’s great spectacle returns. Soprano Latonia Moore—hailed for her performances in Porgy and Bess and Fire Shut Up in My Bones—stars as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country, sharing the role with rising soprano Michelle Bradley. Mezzo-sopranos Anita Rachvelishvili and Olesya Petrova alternate as Aida’s implacable Egyptian counterpart Amneris, with tenors Brian Jagde and Marcelo Álvarez as the warrior Radamès, the object of both of their affections. Baritones George Gagnidze, Quinn Kelsey, and Luca Salsi portray Aida’s father, Amonasro, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn is the iron-fisted priest Ramfis. Maestro Paolo Carignani conducts.

Production a gift of Mrs. Donald D. Harrington

World premiere: Opera House, Cairo, 1871. This grandest of grand operas features an epic backdrop for what is in essence an intimate love story. Set in ancient Egypt and packed with magnificent choruses, complex ensembles, and elaborate ballets, Aida never loses sight of its three protagonists. Few operas have matched Aida in its exploration of the conflict of private emotion and public duty, and perhaps no other has remained to the present day so unanimously appreciated by audiences and critics alike.

Creators
In a remarkable career spanning six decades in the theater, Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) composed 26 operas, at least half of which are at the core of today’s repertoire. His role in Italy’s cultural and political development has made him an icon in his native country. The story of Aida is thought to be the creation of Auguste Mariette (1821–81), an extraordinary French archaeologist who was the founder of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. Camille du Locle (1832–1903), who collaborated on the scenario with Mariette and suggested the story to Verdi, had worked with the composer on the libretto of Don Carlos. Aida’s librettist, Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824–93), was a novelist and poet as well as the creator of some 85 libretti.

Setting
The libretto indicates merely that the opera takes place in “ancient Egypt, in the time of the pharaohs.” This may sound vague, but it was a clear direction to approach the drama as myth rather than anthropology or history.

Music
The score of Aida is a sophisticated example of Italian Romanticism, imbued with a convincingly mysterious and exotic hue. Making no claims to authenticity, Verdi created a unique musical palette for this opera. The grandeur of the subject is aptly conveyed with huge patriotic choruses, most notably the unforgettable Triumphal Scene in Act II. These public moments often serve as frames for the solos of the leading tenor and soprano: his soaring “Celeste Aida” right at the beginning of Act I, her impassioned “Ritorna vincitor!” that follows, and her great internal journey, “Qui Radamès verrà! … O patria mia” in Act III.

Aida by Verdi, Sat 13 May 2023, From (2022/2023), Directed by Sonja Frisell,, Conductor Paolo Carignani, Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

Videos

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues