Met Opera: Aida
Anna Netrebko as Aida and Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris in Verdi's "Aida." Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera
Aida
by Giuseppe Verdi
In a highlight of the season, soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, going toe-to-toe with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris. The cast also features Aleksandrs Antonenko as the warrior Radamès.
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.
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. The score of Aida is a sophisticated example of Italian Romanticism, imbued with a convincingly mysterious and exotic hue.
Performance from October 6, 2018.
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Cast:
Aida: Anna Netrebko
Amneris: Anita Rachvelishvili
Radamès: Aleksandrs Antonenko
Amonasro: Quinn Kelsey
Ramfis: Dmitry Belosselskiy
The King: Ryan Speedo Green
Start time: 10:00am on Capital Public Radio.
Approximate running time 3 hrs 36 min
Click in the "LINKS" area for more information about "Aida."
The next and final opera of the season, and the final opera in cinemas for this season, will be "Dialogues des Carmélites" by Francis Poulenc on May 11th. New Met Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.