São Paulo – Warrior Radamès is called to head the troops to hold back the Ethiopian invasion of his country, Egypt. But the warrior’s heart belongs to the Ethiopian Aida, a slave of the pharaoh and daughter of Amonasro, who will lead the Ethiopian soldiers. Amneris, the daughter of the pharaoh, also loves Radamès. The conflict and the love triangle are the setting for Aida, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi, written in the 19th Century, to be presented at São Paulo’s Municipal Theatre from August 9th to 25th.
The director is the Italian Marco Gandini. The opera should bring together the São Paulo Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by maestro John Nechling, the São Paulo City Ballet and the Lyrical Choir, involving 276 professionals, including musicians, dancers and actors. Also in charge of the opera will be the European Italo Grassi, responsible for scenery, Simona Morresi, dress, Virginio Levrio, lighting, and Marco Barriel, choreography.
Aida will be played by Italian soprano Maria Billeri. Amneris will be played by Finnish mezzo-soprano Tuija Knihtilä and the Italian Laura Brioli. Radamès will be played by North American tenors Gregory Kunde and Stuart Neill. Amonasro will be played by the British Anthony Michaels-Moore and the Brazilian Rodrigo Esteves. There should also be participation of the Brazilian Luiz-Ottavio Faria, Carlos Eduardo Marcos and Lukas D’Oro.
Aida was enacted for the first time in Egypt in 1871. In the following year it was performed in Italy, where it was greatly applauded. The work was commissioned from Verdi for 150,000 gold franks. The Italian believed that the base text was authored by the then viceroy of Egypt, which was not true. It was actually written by Du Locle, in French, under the supervision of Giuseppe Verdi. Italian playwright Antonio Ghislanzoni translated it and finalized the work.
The Municipal Symphony Orchestra, established in 1939, has already performed under renowned international maestros like Mistislav Rostropovich and Ernest Bour. The São Paulo City Ballet was established in 1968 and was born with the purpose of accompanying operas performed in the São Paulo Municipal Theatre. Currently, however, its profile is that of contemporary dance, under the artistic direction of Iracity Cardoso. The Lyrical Choir dates back to 1939 and has already received several awards throughout its trajectory, and has already been conducted by maestros like Heitor Villa-Lobos.
The Municipal Theatre has 1,500 seats and the suggested age limit to see Aida is 10 years. The spectacle takes 210 minutes. The presentation opens the theatre’s 2013 lyrical season.
Service
Opera Aida – by Giuseppe Verdi
In August – Dates: Friday, 9th (8:00 pm), Sunday, 11th (6:00 pm), Tuesday, 13th (8:00 pm), Thursday, 15th (8:00 pm), Saturday, 17th (8:00 pm), Sunday, 18th (6:00 pm), Tuesday, 20th (8:00 pm), Thursday, 22nd (8:00 pm), Saturday, 24th (8:00 pm), Sunday, 25th (6:00 pm)
São Paulo Municipal Theatre, Praça Ramos de Azevedo s/n – São Paulo – SP
Tickets: (+55 11) 3397-0327 or www.ingressorapido.com.br
Admittance: R$ 40 to R$ 100 – half-priced tickets for students
*Translated by Mark Ament
