Giuseppe Verdi AIDA
A beloved and deeply tragic opera, where in the Age of the Pharaohs the Ethiopian princess Aida and the Egypt...
Giuseppe Verdi AIDA
A beloved and deeply tragic opera, where in the Age of the Pharaohs the Ethiopian princess Aida and the Egyptian commander Radames have to choose between love and country.
Giuseppe Verdi took a principled stand on human rights. He never visited Egypt and in his correspondence he has stated that he could never admire the Ancient Egyptian civilization that had based its achievements on slavery and authoritarian power. In the libretto of “Aida” too, what fascinated him beyond the glitter of Egypt, was the impotence of man before the theocratic machine. And thus PromFest’s “Aida” has no painted pyramids and bronzed slave boys, it is instead an attempt to explore the limits of the grand political spectacle, which casts nations into the whirlwind of war and changes the fates of hundreds at a whim.
Our “Aida” will have a happy ending – giving hope that a way out has to exist even from the most hopeless situation. And the opera is ended, fittingly, by the character who changes most during the events – the Egyptian princess Amneris, saying to the audience, the cast but most of all to herself: “Peace!”. An appeal which gains a profound significance in the uncertain world that surrounds us. – - – Madis Nurms, stage artist, director
Contemporary performance
Conductor Erki Pehk
Stage artist, director Madis Nurms
Choreographer Teet Kask
Lighting designer Margus Vaigur
Soloists:
Aida – Jomante Šležaite (Lithunia)
Amneris – Anželina Švatška (Ukraine)
Radames – Eduard Martõnjuk (Belarus)
Amonasro – Samsons Izjumovs (Latvian National Opera)
Ramfis – Romans Polisadovs (Latvia)
King of Egypte – Märt Jakobson (Estonia, Theater Vanemuine)
Messenger – Reigo Tamm või Rasmus Kull (Estonia, Theater Vanemuine)
Theater Vanemuine choir and symphony orchestra
Estonian National Opera “Estonia” operachoir. Choir master Elmo Tiisvald
Birgitta Festival, Promfest and Theater Vanemuine joint production
Language: Italian
Subtitles: English and Estonian
Running time: 3h 5 min
The show has two intermissions