Unitel Classica, found on channel 509 of the TopTV bouquet, continues its series of live broadcasts of classical music with Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, to be performed at the Arena di Verona, Italy, on Saturday, 23 June at 9.15pm.
This production is staged by director Gianfranco de Bosio, who revives the original production from 1913. Daniel Oren, the experienced and highly estimated Maestro of the Arena for almost 30 years, conducts.
Verdi’s most famous, monumental and most played opera established the Arena di Verona as an opera festival venue nearly 100 years ago. Since then, the Arena with its gigantic stage dimensions and its historic charm of a 2,000-year-old roman amphitheatre set in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has staged Verdi’s masterpiece more than 500 times.
The vast space of the amphitheatre provides a magnificent decoration, as would be typical for an epic film. At the centre of the spectacle are the singers, the elaborate scenery and the unique atmosphere of the Arena with 20,000 seats. An opera performance at summer temperatures under the Italian sky leaves unforgettable memories.
This production of Aida is choreographed by Susanna Egri.
Chinese soprano Hui He takes the role of Aida. Born in the imperial city of Xian, she has been a guest at the great opera stages around the world in recent years. In 2006, Hui He sang the role of Cio-cio-san (Madama Butterfly) at the Opera national de Paris. She made her debut at La Scala in Milan as Tosca and sang this role also in the Arena di Verona. This was followed by appearances as Madama Butterfly in Hong Kong, at the Vienna State Opera and at La Scala. In 2010, Hui He gave her debut as Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Andrea Ulbrich plays Amneris. This Hungarian mezzo-soprano studied voice in her hometown of Budapest. The winner of numerous prestigious music competitions, she began her career at the State Opera in Budapest, then changed to Dusseldorf and has since appeared in roles such as Amneris, Eboli (Don Carlo), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) and in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen at many major European opera houses. At the Arena di Verona she sang Adalgisa (Il trovatore) in 2010.
Marco Berti takes the role of Radames. The Italian tenor began his career at La Scala, Milan. Since his appearance as Macduff (Macbeth) at the Edinburgh Festival in 1999, he is a frequent guest at the great international opera houses. He made his debut at London’s Royal Opera House as Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra), followed by signature roles such as Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and Manrico (Il trovatore). In 2006 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a year later at the Vienna State Opera as Cavaradossi (Tosca). He was equally successful at the Op?ra National de Paris, at the Palau les Arts “Reina Sof?a” in Valencia and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Others in the prestigious cast are Ambrogio Maestri (Amonasro) and Giacomo Prestia (Ramfis).
The cast is supported by the in-house chorus, ballet company and orchestra of the Arena di Verona.
