Opéra de Paris

Aida

In Cinemas 15, 16 & 19 May 2021
Conductor
Michele Mariotti
Orchestra
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris
Cast
Soloman Howard (Il re), Ksenia Dudnikova (Amneris), Sondra Radvanovsky (Aida), Jonas Kaufmann (Radames), Dmitry Belosselskiy (Ramfis), Ludovic Tézier (Amonasro), Alessandro Liberatore (Un messaggero), Roberta Mantegna (Sacerdotessa)
Composer
Giuseppe Verdi
Director
Lotte de Beer
Set Design
Christof Hetzer
Duration
3h05 incl interval
Sung in Italian, with English subtitles
Captured live (without audience) from Opéra Bastille, Paris 18 February 2021
  • Musically splendid. Michele Mariotti makes the most of an orchestra and choirs in great form. Dudnikova makes a strong impression, Kaufmann is brilliant, and Radvanovsky overwhelming and emotional.
    Stéphane Lelièvre, BACHTRACK
    Radvanovsky is remarkable in every way, and Kaufmann her equal. Mariotti evokes beautiful sounds from the orchestra. Very attentive to the singers, he envelops their voices with subtlety in intimate passages.
    Christian Peter, FORUM OPERA

Opera in four acts (1871)

New Production! First performed at the Cairo Opera in 1871, Aida draws us into the fantasy of a reconstructed Antiquity. 

At the heart of the plot, an impossible choice between love and patriotic duty: A captive Ethiopian princess, Aida, (Sondra Radvanovsky) and an Egyptian soldier, Radames, (Jonas Kaufmann) betray their people, defy a powerful rival, Amneris (Ksenia Dudnikova) and unite until death.

Marked by the contrast between a theatrical extravaganza and the transition towards a more intimate, personal drama, Verdi’s score manages to distinguish the inner angst of its protagonists from the imposing historical setting. The work brings together several themes dear to the composer: nostalgia for a lost homeland, deliverance through death, the contrast between a dispiriting present and an idealized elsewhere, the stifling reach of religious and political power, the regulating factors in a world intentionally littered with pitfalls.

For her Paris Opera debut, award-winning Dutch director Lotte de Beer has chosen to cast a critical eye on the European portrayal of colonised peoples, encouraging us to rethink our relationship with aesthetic productions of the past and present. Maestro Michele Mariotti is on the podium to lead the Paris Opera’s orchestra through the epic score.

Opéra de Paris

Opéra de Paris is one of the world's greatest opera and ballet companies. Founded more than three centuries ago by Louis XIV, it now holds performances in two theatres, the Palais Garnier (1875) and the Opéra Bastille (1989). The company’s mission is to preserve and develop our operatic and ballet heritage and it gives more than 350 performances per year. Great composers such as Rameau, Gluck, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Gounod, Massenet, Poulenc and Messiaen all gave the first performances of their works here.

See more productions from: Opéra national de Paris