Aida by Giuseppe Verdi 2022

Aida

by Giuseppe Verdi

Opera overview

“Celeste Aida, forma divina” and the absolute top opera of the Arena. A symbol of the Opera Festival, the opera by Giuseppe Verdi will be staged on 11 dates, from 18th June to 4th September 2022. Ancient Egypt as imagined by Franco Zeffirelli (and enriched by the costumes of Anna Anni) will enable you to discover the opera most frequently performed at the Verona amphitheatre. From 1913 to the present day, each performance of Aida adds a piece to the legend of the Arena: are you ready to become part of History?

ConductorDaniel Oren (18, 23/6 – 3/7 – 5, 21, 28/8 – 4/9), Marco Armiliato (8, 16, 24, 28/7)

Direction and set design Franco Zeffirelli

Costumes Anna Anni

Choreography Vladimir Vasiliev

First dancers Ana Sofia Scheller, Fernando Montano (18, 23/6 – 3/7), Alessandro Staiano (8, 16, 24, 28/7), Matias Santos (5, 21, 28/8 – 4/9), Ekaterina Olenik (18, 23/6 – 3/7), Eleana Andreoudi (8, 16, 24, 28/7)

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, Corps de Ballet and Technical team

Chorus Master Ulisse Trabacchin

Ballet coordinator Gaetano Petrosino

Location

Arena di Verona

Director

Daniel Oren, Marco Armiliato

Show type

Opera

Libretto

Antonio Ghislanzoni

Music

Giuseppe Verdi

Duration

2h 49min

Date

There are no more events scheduled for this show.

Cast

Conductor

Daniel Oren

Conductor

Marco Armiliato

Direction and set design

Costumes

Choreographer

Chorus Master

Dance Company Coordinator

Gaetano Petrosino

Interpreters

The King

Sava Vemić 18/06 23/06 03/07

Romano Dal Zovo 08/07 16/07 05/08 21/08 28/08 04/09

Simon Lim 24/07 28/07

Amneris

Ekaterina Semenchuk 18/06 23/06

Clémentine Margaine 03/07 08/07

Anna Maria Chiuri 16/07 24/07

Olesya Petrova 28/07 05/08 21/08 28/08 04/09

Aida

Liudmyla Monastyrska 18/06 23/06 03/07

Anna Netrebko 08/07 16/07 28/07

Monica Conesa 24/07 04/09

Latonia Moore 05/08

Maria Teresa Leva 21/08

Maria José Siri 28/08

Radamès

Murat Karahan 18/06

Yusif Eyvazov 23/06 03/07 08/07 16/07 28/07

Jorge de Leòn 24/07 05/08

Samuele Simoncini 21/08

Jonas Kaufmann 28/08

Riccardo Massi 04/09

Ramfis

Ferruccio Furlanetto 18/06 23/06

Gunther Groissböck 03/07 08/07

Rafal Siwek 16/07 24/07 28/07

Michele Pertusi 05/08

Abramo Rosalen 21/08 28/08

Riccardo Zanellato 04/09

Amonasro

Roman Burdenko 18/06

Simone Piazzola 23/06

Sebastian Catana 03/07 24/07 21/08 28/08

Ambrogio Maestri 08/07 16/07

Amartuvshin Enkhbat 28/07 05/08 04/09

A messenger

Carlo Bosi 18/06 23/06 05/08 21/08

Riccardo Rados 03/07 08/07 28/08 04/09

Francesco Pittari 16/07 24/07 28/07

High Priestess

Francesca Maionchi 18/06 23/06 03/07 08/07 16/07

Yao Bohui 24/07 28/07 05/08 21/08 28/08 04/09

Principal dancer

Ana Sophia Scheller 18/06 23/06 03/07 08/07 16/07 24/07 28/07 05/08 21/08 28/08 04/09

Ekaterina Oleynik 18/06 23/06 03/07

Eleana Andreoudi 08/07 16/07 24/07 28/07

Elisa Cipriani 05/08 21/08

Marianna Monteleone 28/08 04/09

First dancer

Fernando Montano 18/06 23/06 03/07

Alessandro Staiano 08/07 16/07 24/07 28/07 21/08 28/08 04/09

Matias Santos 05/08

Plot ACT I

There is wind of war in Memphis. Ramfis, the High Priest and secret power of the State, informs Radames, captain of the guards, that the Ethiopians are about to invade Egypt. The idea of a war stimulates Radames, a man of ambition and courage. He hopes the god Isis will appoint him supreme commander of the army. He dreams of glory, and everything seems possible. War, for him, is also an occasion to appear valiant before the eyes of the woman he secretly loves: Aida, an Ethiopian slave in the service of Amneris, the Pharaoh’s daughter.

The Egyptian princess is also in love with Radames. Intuitive by nature, though, she immediately suspects she has a rival in this slave but prefers to conceal her jealousy with double cunning. Meanwhile, Aida’s heart is heavy with anxiety: her country is at war, yet at the same time, a love links her to a new world.

A fanfare sounds and a majestic choral scene overrides individual conflicts and aspirations. The leaders of the State meet to plan a war strategy. The King and Ramfis stand out as personalities who have no individual identity, personifying a power which crushes anyone who stands in their way.

After a messenger arrives to confirm that the Ethiopians have invaded under the leadership of King Amonasro, the Pharaoh announces that the Oracle has chosen Radames to be commander-in-chief.

Everyone is thrilled and urges him to return home victorious. Aida, in private, grieves: she hopes Radames will be victorious but at the same time, wants her father, Amonasro to destroy the Egyptian troops. Desperate, full of repressed anxiety, she prays to the gods for mercy.

The rite of investiture as commander-in-chief takes place in the Temple of Vulcan. Against a background of singing and dancing, a silver veil is placed on Radames’s head while Ramfis hands him the consecrated sword. The commander-in-chief has received a blessing, hence it is a just war albeit set on destruction.

In a room of the King’s palace, Amneris is now in despair. Her pride hurt, she is torn between

anger and love, between her wish to save Radames or to ruin him. In the end she decides to save him. She has him brought before her and begs him to prove his innocence: she will ask the King for mercy.

Radames refuses, claiming he has betrayed unintentionally and, having lost Aida, says he would prefer to die. He resists Amneris’s flattery, even when she reveals that Aida is still alive and she promises to save him if he renounces his love for the slave girl.

Radames is taken back to prison. The priests come to give their verdict. Ramfis’s accusations can be heard in the distance, in contrast with the silence of the accused followed by the diatribe of the holy ministers. The sentence arrives quickly: Radames is guilty and will be buried alive. Amneris seeks to save him, but her intervention is of no use in the light of the cruelty of the priests, the real bearers of power. Not even the Pharaoh’s daughter can oppose the repressive apparatus of the State, the implacable mechanisms of military and religious organisation.

In the Temple of Vulcan, the priests bury Radames under a tombstone. Aida, however, is already hiding there, having entered the crypt secretly, to die alongside her beloved. He is desperate; she sees the angel of death approaching and with it, eternal joy. The temple is now invaded by light

and a defeated Amneris prays for peace. A single, sinister note sounds repeatedly. In the obscure underground where they are buried, Aida and Radames are immersed in a sea of musical light, heralding another world beyond this where they will enjoy the happiness that has been denied them on Earth.