Aida

Show on various dates – check the official calendar

From 12 to 28 July, the Circus Maximus will host Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece, which returns in a new production as part of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s summer season.

The four-act opera, with a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on an original story by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, is one of the composer’s most beloved works and among the programme’s most eagerly awaited. Born on the occasion of the celebrations for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1870, Aida was performed for the first time at the Cairo Opera House on 24 December 1871.

Verdi’s majestic and dramatic music accompanies the love story of the Ethiopian princess, captured and taken into slavery in Egypt, and the Egyptian commander Radamès. The man is torn between his love for the woman and his loyalty to the Pharaoh, a situation complicated by Amneris, the Pharaoh’s daughter, who loves him unrequitly. The story ends with the tragic death of the two unhappy lovers, walled up in a tomb.

On stage, directed by Davide Livermore, is a cast of prestigious performers – Elena Stikhina, alternating with Yolanda Auyanet and Aleksandra Kurzak in the role of Aida, Angela Meade and Valentina Pernozzoli (Amneris), Fabio Sartori and Luciano Ganci (Radamès) – accompanied by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, conducted respectively by Daniele Callegari and Ciro Visco, with costumes by Gianluca Falaschi, lighting by Antonio Castro, video by D-Wok and evocative sets by Giò Forma.