Teatro alla Scala in Milan celebrated Franco Zeffirelli’s 95th birthday by reviving one of his most iconic and frequently reprised productions: Verdi’s historic Aida in the 1963 staging, with its magnificent painted sets and costumes by Lila De Nobili. For many, this production defines Aida, offering audiences a late‑nineteenth‑century vision of Egypt that seems inseparably linked to Verdi’s music and the era of its composition.
IThe grandeur of the painted backdrops with their sweeping perspective, the stage teeming with choristers and extras in the triumphal scene, and the magic of the lighting effects in the Nile act are elements that continue to captivate audiences today. Yet time has left its mark, and perhaps now there is a need for something more—above all, a deeper exploration of the individual protagonists of this drama, each of them richly layered and complex.
Cast
Aida: Krassimira Stoyanova
Radames: Fabio Sartori
Amneris: Violeta Urmana
Amonasro: George Gagnidze
Ramfis: Vitalij Kowaljow
Il re d’Egitto: Carlo Colombara
Una sacerdotessa: Enkeleda Kamani
Un messaggero: Riccardo Della Sciucca
Akhmet: Marta Romagna
Coppia di selvaggi: Maria Celeste Losa e Mick Zeni
