Organization

Stage director

Stage director (+2)

Sonja Frisell

Set designer

Gianni Quaranta

Costume designer

Dada Saligeri

Lighting designer

Gil Wechsler

Conductor

Conductor (+2)

Paolo Carignani

Choreographer

Choreographer (+1)

Alexei Ratmansky

Bass-baritone (+3)

Christian Van Horn

Ramfis

The Metropolitan Opera

Chorus

Metropolitan Opera Choir

Orchestra

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Metropolitan Opera House

Mezzo-soprano (+3)

Olesya Petrova

Amneris

Soprano

Michelle Bradley

Aida

Baritone (+1)

George Gagnidze

Amonasro

Bass (+5)

Alexandros Stavrakakis

The King of Egypt

Tenor (+2)

Brian Jagde

Radames

Brittany Olivia Logan

A high priestess

Tenor

Matthew Cairns

A messenger

Bass (+3)

Krzysztof Bączyk

Amanda Batista

Tenor (+1)

Kyle van Schoonhoven

Baritone (+3)

Quinn Kelsey

Soprano (+2)

Angela Meade

Jorge de León

Marcelo Álvarez

Baritone (+2)

Luca Salsi

Leah Crocetto

Anita Rachvelishvili

Soprano (+1)

Latonia Moore

Limmie Pulliam

Harold Wilson

Rafael Davila

Anthony Ciaramitaro

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.

Cast

Ramfis

Amneris

Aida

Amonasro

Il Re d'Egitto

Radamès

Una sacerdotessa

Un messaggero

Crew

Stage director

Conductor

Set designer

Costume designer

Lighting designer

Choreographer

Instrumentation

Producer

Producer

Ensemble

Orchestra

Chorus

Co-Producer