12/15/12 – Aida – 1:00pm

Metropolitan Opera

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Sung in Italian
Approximate running time: 3 hrs. 36 min, including two intermissions

 

The Met’s unforgettable production of Verdi’s ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radamès, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina.  Fabio Luisi conducts this revival, which features recent choreography by Alexei Ratmansky.

“Ms. Monastyrska, a native of Kiev, Ukraine, and an established star at that city’s opera house, comes to the Met a fully mature artist. She is gifted with a luscious round soprano that maintains its glow even in the softest notes. Her “O patria mia” was beautifully drawn and colored with darker inflections that added dramatic intensity.”

“The combined fervor of Olga Borodina as Amneris and Fabio Luisi at the helm of a fired-up orchestra made for an electrically charged and energetic performance” (New York Times).