Organization

Stage director

Kuzman Popov

Conductor

Hristo Ignatov

Costume designer

Lora Marinova

Choreographer

Kalina Bogoeva

Chorus master

Malina Hubcheva

State Opera Varna

Aida

Varna

Bulgaria

Opera Theatre

Aida Verdi

Public

Approved

After the triumphant premiere of "Don Carlos" in Paris in 1867, Verdi was persistently looking for a plot for a new opera.
Unfortunately, none of the librettos he became acquainted with over the next two years had the merits needed to ignite the spark of his creative imagination.

It was not until the summer of 1870 that the composer received an "unnamed Egyptian program" sent to him by the Viceroy of Egypt, Hediv Ismail Pasha, through Camille de Locle, one of the librettists of Don Carlos and director of the Paris Opera Comic.

According to the idea of ​​Ismail Pasha - a man with a vigilant mind and affinity for European culture and art, this ancient Egyptian legend, deciphered on papyrus by the famous French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, should serve as the basis for an opera to celebrate the opening of Suez canal in the following 1871.

Verdi is very intrigued by the upcoming creative task. In the story of the tragic love of the captured Ethiopian princess Aida and the Egyptian military leader Radames, the Maestro instantly sees the musical "color" of the drama, which for him is the most important in the creative process. Fascinated by the plot, Verdi began to develop a detailed plan of the opera with de Locle, who wrote the screenplay in French. Based on this scenario, Verdi suggested that the poet Antonio Gislanzoni write an Italian text in verse.

In the process of working on the opera, Verdi consulted with Mariette, studied the history and art of ancient Egypt, collected information about the Egyptian nature and way of life of the Egyptians, considered the use of some ancient instruments of this people. After four months of hard work, in November 1870 Verdi completed Aida's score. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the planned premiere was delayed for almost a year and the opera was performed for the first time only on December 24, 1871 at the Italian Opera House in Cairo. The success is extraordinary.

In less than two months, La Scala presents the Italian premiere of "Aida", which begins the triumphant journey of the opera on European stages.

In "Aida" Verdi continues some of the leading thematic lines, characteristic of his earlier works, giving them an individual, colored by the specific plot sound. The passionate pursuit of freedom and happiness, the struggle for national independence, the exposure of the brutal forces of oppression and violence, the chanting of the power of love, excite Verdi throughout his career.
Consonant with the historical moment in Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century, they are very attractive to the composer, whose civic duty and national dignity are particularly sensitive.

The personal drama in "Aida", filled with sharp collisions, unfolds against a background of monumental folk scenes, lavish processions and dances. In its decorative and spectacular "Aida" is born from the traditions of the great French opera - a stylistic line in the work of Verdi, which he advocated in the opera "Sicilian Evening" and continues in the later "Power of Fate" and "Don Carlos" ”.
But both in these works and in Aida, the composer transforms the French manner through the prism of the peculiarities and forms of Italian opera.
The combination of melodic charm and psychological expressiveness is characteristic of many pages of the opera, especially the episodes in which the image of Aida and the nuances in her state of mind are revealed. More traditional means have been used for the images of Amneris and Radames, generously endowed with beautiful and expressive melodies.

With energy and rhythmic richness he attracts the musical characteristics of the Ethiopian leader Amonasro. Verdi pays special attention to the images of evil, which in "Aida" are personified by Ramphis and the priests. Possessing their own characteristic complex of musical means of expression, they are an active force in every action and prepare the tragic outcome of the opera.

The great dramatic role of the images of evil is a trend that Verdi developed in "Macbeth" and developed particularly vividly in "Don Carlos", in which the grim and sinister image of the Grand Inquisitor is very reminiscent of High Priest Ramphis.

In terms of musical drama, Aida is a new, higher step in Verdi's creative evolution. Here he finally parted ways with the traditional number structure, bringing the unfolding of "numbers" to a breadth unattainable in his earlier operas.

Characteristic in this respect is the finale of the second act, which Verdi simply calls a "march", adding "very long and detailed". This large-scale scene contains choirs, dances, recitatives, arias, orchestral episodes, united by the unified pulsation of the evolving storyline. The sharp conflicting content of the opera determines the great dramaturgical significance of the dialogic scenes, which become the main pillars in the development of the drama. Verdi's recitative style, formed in his much earlier works (eg La Traviata, Macbeth), reached perfection in Aida.

In this opera there are examples of a perfect balance between speech expressiveness and cantilena, deeply grounded in dramatic content. And the peculiar combination of lyricism and scale, specifically and in general, emotional depth and social clashes, determines the Shakespearean scale of the work. The finale of "Aida" is a song about strength, loyalty and self-sacrifice in the name of love.

English

Aida by Verdi, From (1999/1999), Directed by Kuzman Popov,, Conductor Hristo Ignatov, Opera Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues