Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Stockholm, Sweden

Starts at: 20:00

Acts: 3

Intervals: 1

Duration: 3h

Sung in: Italian

Titles in: Swedish

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

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If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
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Cast

Performers

Orchestra: Royal Swedish Orchestra

Conductor: Vincenzo Milletari

Baritone: Johan Edholm (Amonasro)

Bass: Johan Schinkler (The King of Egypt)

Tenor: Milen Bozhkov (Radamès)

Mezzo-Soprano: Miriam Treichl (Amneris)

Soprano: Oksana Nosatova (Aida)

Chorus: Royal Swedish Opera Chorus

Creators

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

Librettist: Antonio Ghislanzoni

Egyptology: Auguste Mariette

Librettist: Camille Du Locle

Director: Michael Cavanagh

Overview

Verdi's opera classic continues to seduce audiences: one of the must-sees of the opera repertoire, a performance that has been praised by both audiences and critics.

Should you betray your country or your heart? Verdi’s classic opera Aida seduces the audience with a story about love and loyalty set to unparallelled, magnificent music. Michael Cavanagh’s production is back. A highly emotional opera, sung in Italian and a feast for the eyes. As Aida we see star soprano Christina Nilsson, whose recent success in the same role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York was a resounding success. See this opera repertoire must, celebrated by audiences and critics alike.

Can love conquer all? A country ravaged by armed conflict, religion and power struggles is on the verge of collapse. Aida is a young prisoner of war who finds herself torn between two warring parties. Against all reason, she falls in love with Radamès, and we watch as the two lovers struggle to stay afloat in a chaotic world.

Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida is a complex and ardent love story on several levels. It premiered in Cairo in 1871 and soon became one of the most beloved operas of all time. Michael Cavanagh’s electric interpretation of the work focuses on the anxiety that rages within the minds of these heroic, but vulnerable, people.

"5 FUN FACTS ABOUT AIDA"

Aida was commissioned to celebrate the new Khedival Opera of Cairo
It is often said that Aida was commissioned in the 1860’s by the Viceroy of Egypt, Ismaïl Pacha, to inaugurate the new Suez Canal. It is more likely that the work was commissioned for the inauguration of the new Khedivial Opera in Cairo. Unfortunately, Aida was not ready for the opening of the Opera House and Rigoletto was performed instead. There were several reasons for this delay. Firstly, Verdi was behind his composition. Secondly, the set and costumes that were supposed to travel from Paris to Cairo are blocked in the capital because of the siege in Paris during the French-Prussian war (1870-1871). Aida finally has its premiere in Cairo on the 24 December 1871 and the following month in La Scala Milan.

A turning point in Verdi’s operas

Although Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, the composer was at the Italian premiere carefully supervising every detail - from the set up of the instruments to the stage design. While his earlier works put emphasis on the voice, Aida appears as a turning point in his use of the orchestra. Verdi was without doubt influenced by Wagner, even though the latter’s music had not really reached Italy yet. Verdi only knew some extracts but was nonetheless impressed. Although their artistic conceptions diverge, Verdi felt the necessity to differentiate himself from the German composer.

Teresa Stolz: a Verdian soprano for Aida

Teresa Stolz, Italian soprano born in 1834, was one of Verdi’s favorite singers who sang in many operas accross Italy, including the roles of: Elisabetta in the Italian version of Don Carlo in Bologna in 1867, Leonora in La forza del destino in 1869 at La Scala. So it was that Verdi wrote Aida for her. But too expensive for the Cairo Opera, Teresa Stolz finally sang the title role a month and a half later, for the European premiere of Aida at La Scala on 8 February 1872.

An incredible world triumph

"Let’s not talk about this Aida anymore. It brought me a lot of money, but also it brought me endless troubles and great artistic disillusions!" Verdi confessed in one of his letters to his editor Tito Ricordi. Whatever the composer’s regrets, Aida was a huge international success. It was performed in many Italian cities – Palermo, Padova, Florence – and beyond; not only in Europe – Berlin, Vienna – but also American in places such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston. Operas are seldom such an immediate success.

A modern staging from the Royal Swedish Opera far from the world of swords and sandals.
Far from the Egypt of the pharaohs and the usual pomp of Aida, Director Michael Cavanagh chooses to anchor the story in the 21st century. His is a topical world where there are wars and political crises; where ethnicity and religion divides. Two rising opera stars, the soprano Christina Nilsson and the tenor Ivan Defabiani shine in this new production.

– Text by OperaVision

History

Premiere of this production: 24 December 1871, Khedivial Opera House in Cairo

Aida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, Aida has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera.

Synopsis

Act I

The Ethiopian princess Aida has been captured and enslaved, but her captors do not know of her importance. Radames is a commander in the Egyptian army and is in love with Aida, but also wants to be victorious on the battlefield – Aida’s father, the Ethiopiann King Amonasro, is invading Egypt in order to find and free his daughter.

Amneris is in love with Radames but knows that he loves another; she can see it in his face (‘Quale insolita gioia nel tuo sguardo’ / ‘In your looks I trace a joy unwonted’). She notices that when Aida appears, Radames changes, and she figures out that Radames’ love interest is Aida.

The King of Egypt enters with the news that Ethiopia is invading. Aida feels conflicted – she loves Radames, but she is loyal to Ethiopia.

Act II

Radames has won the battle, and the crowds celebrate. Aida is cornered by Amneris and told that Radames has died; she reveals her love for him and Amneris is enraged.

Aida finds her father Amonasro among the enslaved Ethiopians brought back by Radames and his troops following the battle. She goes to him. They lie to their captors and say that the Ethiopian king was slain in the battle. The Egyptians are none the wiser; all they see is a father and daughter. Radames pleads with his king to let the hostages go free. The king agrees, but keeps Aida and Amonasro hostage.

Act III

Near the temple of the goddess Isis, prayers are said to bless the upcoming wedding of Radames and Amneris ('O tu che sei d'Osiride' / ‘O thou who to Osiris art’). Radames meets Aida secretly and says he will marry her. Amonasro spies on their conversation, and when he reveals himself, Radames feels betrayed. Amneris and the high prist Ramfis see Radames and Aida together. Radames surrenders to arrest, refusing to flee with Aida and Amonasro.

Act IV

Radames refuses to listen to Amneris’s pleas to save himself from prison by denying the charges against him. He is sentenced to death. When he is sealed up in a vault to be buried alive, he finds Aida already there. She had hidden herself in the vault in order to be able to die together with him. They sing a duet (Radamès and Aida: 'La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse' / ‘The fatal stone now closes over me’). As Amneris weeps in the temple, Aida and Radames die down below.

Backstory: The Egyptians have captured and enslaved Aida, an Ethiopian princess. An Egyptian military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the King of Egypt. To complicate the story further, the King's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.

Act 1

Scene 1: A hall in the King's palace; through the rear gate the pyramids and temples of Memphis are visible

Ramfis, the high priest of Egypt, tells Radamès, the young warrior, that war with the Ethiopians seems inevitable, and Radamès hopes that he will be chosen as the Egyptian commander (Ramfis, Radamès: "Sì, corre voce l'Etiope ardisca" / Yes, it is rumored that Ethiopia dares once again to threaten our power).

Radamès dreams both of gaining victory on the battlefield and of Aida, an Ethiopian slave, with whom he is secretly in love (Radamès: "Se quel guerrier io fossi! ... Celeste Aida" / Heavenly Aida). Aida, who is also secretly in love with Radamès, is the captured daughter of the Ethiopian King Amonasro, but her Egyptian captors are unaware of her true identity. Her father has invaded Egypt to deliver her from servitude.

Amneris, the daughter of the Egyptian King, enters the hall. She too loves Radamès, but fears that his heart belongs to someone else (Radamès, Amneris: "Quale insolita gioia nel tuo sguardo" / In your looks I trace a joy unwonted).

Aida appears and, when Radamès sees her, Amneris notices that he looks disturbed. She suspects that Aida could be her rival, but is able to hide her jealousy and approach Aida (Amneris, Aida, Radamès: "Vieni, o diletta, appressati" / Come, O delight, come closer).

The King enters, along with the High Priest, Ramfis, and the whole palace court. A messenger announces that the Ethiopians, led by King Amonasro, are marching towards Thebes. The King declares war and proclaims that Radamès is the man chosen by the goddess Isis to be the leader of the army (The King, Messenger, Radamès, Aida, Amneris, Ramfis, chorus: "Alta cagion v'aduna .. Guerra, guerra, guerra!" / Oh fate o'er Egypt looming .. War, war, war!). Upon receiving this mandate from the King, Radamès proceeds to the temple of Vulcan to take up the sacred arms (The King, Radamès, Aida, Amneris, chorus: "Su! del Nilo al sacro lido" .. (reprise) "Guerra, guerra guerra!" / On! Of Nilus' sacred river, guard the shores .. (reprise) War, war, war!).

Alone in the hall, Aida feels torn between her love for her father, her country, and Radamès (Aida: "Ritorna vincitor" / Return a conqueror).

Scene 2: Inside the Temple of Vulcan

Solemn ceremonies and dances by the priestesses take place (High Priestess, chorus, Radamès: "Possente Ftha ... Tu che dal nulla" / O mighty Ptah). This is followed by the installation of Radamès to the office of commander-in-chief (High Priestess, chorus, Ramfis, Radamès: "Immenso Ftha .. Mortal, diletto ai Numi" / O mighty one, guard and protect!). All present in the temple pray fervently for the victory of Egypt and protection for their warriors ("Nume, custode e vindice"/ Hear us, O guardian deity).

Act 2

Scene 1: The chamber of Amneris

Dances and music to celebrate Radamès' victory take place (Chorus, Amneris: "Chi mai fra gli inni e i plausi" / Our songs his glory praising). However, Amneris is still in doubt about Radamès' love and wonders whether Aida is in love with him. She tries to forget her doubt, entertaining her worried heart with the dance of Moorish slaves (Chorus, Amneris: "Vieni: sul crin ti piovano" / Come bind your flowing tresses).

When Aida enters the chamber, Amneris asks everyone to leave. By falsely telling Aida that Radamès has died in the battle, she tricks her into professing her love for him. In grief, and shocked by the news, Aida confesses that her heart belongs to Radamès eternally (Amneris, Aida: "Fu la sorte dell'armi a' tuoi funesta" / The battle's outcome was cruel for your people).

This confession fires Amneris with rage, and she plans on taking revenge on Aida. Ignoring Aida's pleadings (Amneris, Aida, chorus: "Su! del Nilo al sacro lido" / Up! at the sacred shores of the Nile), Amneris leaves her alone in the chamber.

Scene 2: The grand gate of the city of Thebes

Radamès returns victorious and the troops march into the city (Chorus, Ramfis: "Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside" / Glory to Egypt, to Isis!).

The Egyptian king decrees that on this day the triumphant Radamès may have anything he wishes. The Ethiopian captives are led onstage in chains, Amonasro among them. Aida immediately rushes to her father, who whispers to her to conceal his true identity as King of Ethiopia from the Egyptians. Amonasro deceptively proclaims to the Egyptians that the Ethiopian king (referring to himself) has been slain in battle. Aida, Amonasro, and the captured Ethiopians plead with the Egyptian King for mercy, but Ramfis and the Egyptian priests call for their death (Aida, Amneris, Radamès, The King, Amonasro, chorus: "Che veggo! .. Egli? .. Mio padre! .. Anch'io pugnai .. Struggi, o Re, queste ciurme feroci" / What do I see?.. Is it he? My father? .. Destroy, O King, these ferocious creatures).

Claiming the reward promised by the King of Egypt, Radamès pleads with him to spare the lives of the prisoners and to set them free. The King grants Radamès' wish, and declares that he (Radamès) will be his (the King's) successor and will marry the King's daughter (Amneris). (Aida, Amneris, Radamès, Ramfis, The King, Amonasro, chorus: "O Re: pei sacri Numi! .. Gloria all'Egitto" / O King, by the sacred gods ... Glory to Egypt!). At Ramfis' suggestion to the King, Aida and Amonasro remain as hostages to ensure that the Ethiopians do not avenge their defeat.

Act 3

On the banks of the Nile, near the Temple of Isis

Prayers are said (Chorus, High Priestess, Ramfis, Amneris: "O tu che sei d'Osiride" / O thou who to Osiris art) on the eve of Amneris and Radamès' wedding in the Temple of Isis. Outside, Aida waits to meet with Radamès as they had planned (Aida: "Qui Radamès verra .. O patria mia" / Oh, my dear country!).

Amonasro appears and orders Aida to find out the location of the Egyptian army from Radamès. Aida, torn between her love for Radamès and her loyalty to her native land and to her father, reluctantly agrees. (Aida, Amonasro: "Ciel, mio padre! .. Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate" / Once again shalt thou gaze). When Radamès arrives, Amonasro hides behind a rock and listens to their conversation.

Radamès affirms that he will marry Aida ("Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida .. Nel fiero anelito"; "Fuggiam gli ardori inospiti .. Là, tra foreste vergini" / I see you again, my sweet Aida!), and Aida convinces him to flee to the desert with her.

In order to make their escape easier, Radamès proposes that they use a safe route without any fear of discovery and reveals the location where his army has chosen to attack. Upon hearing this, Amonasro comes out of hiding and reveals his identity. Radamès realizes, to his extreme dismay, that he has unwittingly revealed a crucial military secret to the enemy. At the same time, Amneris and Ramfis leave the temple and, seeing Radamès in conference with the enemy, call for the imperial guards. Amonasro draws a dagger, intending to kill Amneris and Ramfis before the guards can hear them, but Radamès disarms him, quickly orders him to flee with Aida, and surrenders himself to the imperial guards as Aida and Amonasro run off. The guards arrest him as a traitor.

Act 4

Scene 1: A hall in the Temple of Justice. To one side is the door leading to Radamès' prison cell

Amneris desires to save Radamès ("L'aborrita rivale a me sfuggia" / My hated rival has escaped me). She calls for the guard to bring him to her.

She asks Radamès to deny the accusations, but Radamès, who does not wish to live without Aida, refuses. He is relieved to know Aida is still alive and hopes she has reached her own country (Amneris, Radamès: "Già i Sacerdoti adunansi" / Already the priests are assembling).

Offstage, Ramfis recites the charges against Radamès and calls on him to defend himself, but he stands mute, and is condemned to death as a traitor. Amneris, who remains onstage, protests that he Radamès is innocent, and pleads with the priests to show mercy. The priests sentence him to be buried alive; Amneris weeps and curses the priests as he is taken away (Judgment scene, Amneris, Ramfis, and chorus: "Ahimè! .. morir mi sento .. Radamès, e deciso il tuo fato" / Alas .. I feel death .. Radamès, your fate is decided).

Scene 2: The lower portion of the stage shows the vault in the Temple of Vulcan; the upper portion represents the temple itself

Radamès has been taken into the lower floor of the temple and sealed up in a dark vault, where he thinks that he is alone. As he hopes that Aida is in a safer place, he hears a sigh and then sees Aida. She has hidden herself in the vault in order to die with Radamès (Radamès and Aida: "La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse." / The fatal stone now closes over me). They accept their terrible fate (Radamès: "Morir! Si pura e bella" / To die! So pure and lovely!) and bid farewell to Earth and its sorrows. Above the vault in the temple of Vulcan, Amneris weeps and prays to the goddess Isis. In the vault below, Aida dies in Radamès' arms as the priests, offstage, pray to the god Ftha. (Chorus, Aida, Radamès, Amneris: "Immenso Ftha" / Almighty Ptah).

Venue Info

Royal Swedish Opera - Stockholm
Gustav Adolfs torg 2

Royal Swedish Opera is Sweden's major national stage for opera and ballet. Famous singers who have been part of the opera's ensemble have included Jussi Björling, Gösta Winbergh, Nicolai Gedda, Peter Mattei, Jenny Lind, Birgit Nilsson, Elisabeth Söderström, Fritz Arlberg, Anne Sofie von Otter, Katarina Dalayman and Nina Stemme.

The orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Swedish Orchestra, Kungliga Hovkapellet, dates back to 1526. Royal housekeeping accounts from 1526 mention twelve musicians including wind players and a timpanist but no string players. Consequently, the Royal Swedish Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Europe.

Armas Järnefelt was on the music staff from 1905, rising to become chief conductor between 1923–1933 and 1938–1946. The Royal Swedish Ballet, Kungliga Baletten, was founded by Gustav III of Sweden in 1773.

The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side of Gustav Adolfs torg across from the former Arvfurstens Palats, now Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It lies on the north side of the Norrström river and is connected to the Royal Palace through the Norrbro bridge.

The opera company was founded by King Gustav III and its first performance, Thetis and Phelée with Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin, was given on January 18, 1773; this was the first native speaking opera performed in Sweden.

But the first opera house was not opened until 1782 and served for a century before being replaced at the end of the 19th century. Both houses are officially called the "Royal Opera", however the terms "The Gustavian Opera" and "The Oscarian Opera", or the "Old" and "New" Opera are used when distinction is needed.

The Gustavian Opera
The original Stockholm Opera House, the work of architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was commissioned by King Gustav III, a strong adherent of the ideal of an enlightened absolutism and as such was a great patron of the arts. The Swedish Opera company had first been located in Bollhuset, but there was a need to separate the Opera from the theatre and give them separate buildings. Construction began in 1775 and the theatre was inaugurated on 30 September 1782 with a performance of the German composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann's Cora och Alonzo. It was also the place for public masquerade balls, events inspired from the famous opera-balls in Paris, which was open for everyone wearing a mask at a cheap cost and somewhat ill-reputed.

The building was very imposing with its centre Corinthian tetrastyle portico supporting four statues and topped by the royal crown. The four-tiered auditorium was oval in shape, had excellent acoustics and sight lines. The sumptuous foyer contained neoclassic medallions and pilasters.

It was in the foyer of the opera house where the king met his fate: during a masquerade on March 16, 1792, he was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström, and died 7 days later. (In turn, this event inspired the operas Gustave III by Daniel Auber and Un ballo in maschera by Verdi.) Following the assassination, the opera house was closed until 1 November 1792, when it was opened again, which by some was considered shocking. The son of Gustav III, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, did not like the Opera, possibly because of the murder of his father, and disliked the fact that the scene of his father's murder was used as a place of amusement and leisure, and when a frivolous play was performed for his queen Frederica of Baden in 1806, he decided to close it down. It remained closed until 1809, and when the king was deposed, it took until May 1812, before it was organised enough to be fully opened again.

The Oscarian Opera, Operan

The old opera was demolished in 1892 to give way to the construction of a new Opera drawn by Axel Johan Anderberg, which was finished seven years later and inaugurated by King Oscar II with a production of a Swedish opera (that tradition having been quite firmly established during the 19th century), Franz Berwald's Estrella de Soria.

The new house had the letters Kungl. Teatern, literally "Royal Theatre" (which caused the later-founded Royal Dramatic Theatre to add the distinction "dramatic" to its name). The building is now simply called Operan ("The Opera"), written in golden letters above the middle arch on the front facade. It is a majestic neo-classical building with a magnificent gold foyer (Guldfoajén) and elegant marble grand staircase leading to a three-tiered auditorium somewhat smaller than the old theatre. It presently seats 1,200. Most productions are now sung in the original language (with Swedish subtitles), with only a few in Swedish.

The Royal Swedish Family of King Carl XVI Gustaf keeps the Royal Box reserved, located in the first tier in the auditorium above the orchestra pit.

The current general manager of the Royal Swedish Opera is the Swedish mezzo-soprano Birgitta Svendén. In November 2011, the Dutch conductor Lawrence Renes was named the next chief conductor of the company, as of the 2012–13 season, with an initial contract through the 2016–17 season.

Aida

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Royal Swedish Opera - Stockholm Gustav Adolfs torg 2

Royal Swedish Opera - Stockholm
Gustav Adolfs torg 2