The opera Aida was commissioned by Verdi Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt. Its performance was to open the Cairo Opera House, and the opening of the theater, in turn, marked the completion of the construction of the Suez Canal. The new trade route from the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean, as planned, was supposed to lead Egypt to a new flourishing, and the first national Egyptian opera, written by the great Italian, was to make the country a part of European culture. Verdi did not have time to complete the work by the opening - the premiere of Aida took place the following year, and the opera was a success in the Cairo theater until its collapse. She has not left the world stages since the premiere.
Against the backdrop of the glorious conquests of the ancient empire, the love story of the Egyptian commander Radames and the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians warring with Egypt, Aida, who is in slavery at the Egyptian court, unfolds. This love turns out to be stronger than the promise of glory and power, stronger than loyalty to the motherland, and even, in a sense, stronger than death. Unusually for Verdi's operas, the inevitable fate, in the ancient spirit, leading the characters to death, in the end turns out to be neither gloomy nor tragic. Death in love, in the name of love, looks like a calm, a happy oblivion after worldly storms.
Daniele Finzi Pasca has more experience in drama theater and circus than in opera, and this experience proved to be useful in working for the unusual space of the Concert Hall. Audience seats in it are located on all four sides of the stage, and perfect acoustics give the performers freedom of movement; this made it possible to get away from the strict frontality adopted in the productions of opera houses. In addition, the classical Aida, which already existed on the historical stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, had to be countered with something completely different in style and spirit. There is practically no place for scenery in the Concert Hall, the space is created by costumes, light and minimal stage arrangements, instead of triumphal processions on it - an acrobat spinning in a heavy iron ring (the number is taken from Pasca's production for the Canadian circus "Eloise"). "Aida" in these circumstances does not acquire new meanings, but a new sound, an atmosphere that emphasizes mystical, fabulous moments. The sensitive acoustics of the hall makes it possible to highlight those subtleties that in other productions often go into the shadow of the magnificent gold of the orchestra.Denis Velikzhanin
