| Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901) | Aida (Concert Staging) | Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni |
| Opera North | ||
| Sir Richard Armstrong | Conductor | |
| Annabel Arden | Director | |
| Joanna Parker | Set Designer, Costume Designer, Video | |
| Orchestra of Opera North | ||
| Chorus of Opera North | ||
| Alexandra Zabala | Soprano | Aida |
| Rafael Rojas | Tenor | Radamès |
| Eric Greene | Tenor | Amonasro |
| Alessandra Volpe | Mezzo-soprano | Amneris |
| Petri Lindroos | Baritone | Ramfis |
| Michael Druiett | Baritone | King of Egypt |
| Lorna James | Soprano | Priestess |
| Warren Gillespie | Tenor | A messenger |
Sung in Italian with English titles
Commissioned to create a grand opera to inaugurate the new opera house in Cairo, Verdi responded by creating a historical fantasy of Egypt on a tragic theme. Yet for all its scenes of spectacle, such as the famous triumphal march, at the heart of Aida is a web of intimate personal relationships between people caught in the crossfire of international conflict.
Egypt is at war with Ethiopia. Aida, daughter of the Ethiopian king, has been captured by the Egyptians. Secretly, she loves an Egyptian general, Radamès, and he returns her love. When Radamès is selected to lead a renewed assault against the enemy, Aida is forced to choose between betraying her country and betraying her heart.
The leading characters in Aida are as conflicted as the war-torn world they inhabit, and for the doomed lovers, Radamès and Aida, Verdi reserved some of his finest arias – his ‘Celeste Aida’ and her ‘O patria mia’ for example. Featuring Rafael Rojas as Radamès and Eric Greene as Amonasro, this new concert staging of Aida is directed by Annabel Arden, whose award-winning production of Turandot for Opera North electrified audiences in 2017, with set and costume design by Joanna Parker.
