Aida by Verdi at The Royal Opera

The Royal Opera House

11 March 2011 to 15 April 2011

The drama and excitement of Aida returns to the Royal Opera stage for this first revival of the David McVicar’s production, new last Season. The tense confrontations, ancient rituals and high drama of Verdi’s opera are brought to life by a world-class cast headed by Roberto Alagna, Carlo Ventre and Dongwon Shin, as the warrior Radames, and Micaela Carosi and Latonia Moore as the captured princess of the title. The production’s striking designs evoke a strange and distant culture – a society from long ago, ordered by ritual, obsessed with death, driven by war. How can the furtive love between a prisoner and one of her captors survive against such forces? The intensity and tragedy of the story inspired Verdi to some of his most haunting and famous music: the seductive slave dances, the triumphal march, the passion of ‘Celeste Aida’, the heart-rending finale. Given full reign by the large forces of chorus and orchestra under conductors Fabio Luisi and Daniele Rustioni, the glorious music is some of the most memorable of all opera.

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Cast change notification: Due to pregnancy, Italian soprano Micaela Carosi has withdrawn from the title role of Aida for all her scheduled performances. The role will now be sung by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, marking her debut with The Royal Opera.

Fabio Luisi, Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, has withdrawn from conducting the performances of Aida on 30 March and 2 April 2011 to enable him to conduct two performances of Das Rheingold for the Metropolitan Opera, originally scheduled to be conducted by James Levine.

We are grateful to Daniele Rustioni who will now conduct Aida on 30 March and 2 April, in addition to his scheduled performances on 10, 13 and 15 April.

Conductor
Fabio Luisi
Daniele Rustioni

Aida
Liudmyla Monastyrska
Latonia Moore

Radames
Roberto Alagna
Carlo Ventre
Dongwon Shin

Amneris
Olga Borodina
Marianne Cornetti
Anna Smirnova

Amonasro
Michael Volle
Carlos Almaguer

Ramfis
Vitalij Kowaljow
Brindley Sherratt

King of Egypt
Brindley Sherratt
Lukas Jakobski§

High Priestess
Madeleine Pierard§

Messenger
Ji Hyun Kim§
Steven Ebel