Giuseppe Verdi: Aida - Live From Paris

18 FEB 2021: ARTE Concert streams Giuseppe Verdi's passionate drama with Sondra Radvanovsky, Elīna Garanča and Jonas Kaufmann live from the Opéra national de Paris.

First performed at the Cairo Opera in 1871 to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, the opera draws the specatators into the fantasy of a reconstructed Antiquity. "Aida" is above all a personal drama about the impossible choice between love and patriotic duty: A captive Ethiopian princess and an Egyptian soldier betray their people, defy a powerful rival and unite until death. Marked by the contrast between a theatrical extravaganza and the transition towards a more intimate, personal drama, Verdi’s score manages to distinguish the inner angst of its protagonists from the imposing historical setting. The work brings together several themes dear to the composer: nostalgia for a lost homeland, deliverance through death, the contrast between a dispiriting present and an idealized elsewhere, the stifling reach of religious and political power, the regulating factors in a world intentionally littered with pitfalls.

For her Paris Opera debut, Dutch director Lotte de Beer has chosen to cast a critical eye on the European portrayal of colonised peoples, encouraging us to rethink our relationship with aesthetic productions of the past and present.

Aida will be livestreamed from the Opéra national de Paris on ARTE Concert on 18 February at 19:30 CET. Afterwards, the opera will stay available online for six months.

Recording location