The 'crystal' Aida is back at the Arena Opera Festival 2025
The second weekend of the Opera Festival is also sold out
From 20 June, the queen of opera at the Arena will feature in the production created by Stefano Poda, creator of the new Nabucco. The cast includes Siri, Hooks, Rehlis, Enkhbat and Vinogradov, directed by Maestro Oren
With the opening weekend now over, the Opera Festival is starting again with the ‘queen’ of opera. On Friday 20 June at 9.30 pm, the first performance of Aida will be staged at the Arena di Verona. Every detail of the staging, dubbed ‘crystal’ for its transparent surfaces and unprecedented use of light, has been crafted by Stefano Poda, who has brough his own personal blend of ancient Egyptian symbolism and contemporary high fashion on stage. The evening performance is already sold out, as is Nabucco the next day.
Internationally famous artists, adored by the critics and the Arena audience alike, are taking to the stage to open the season. The protagonist is the soprano Maria José Siri, Aida, the lover of Radamès, played by the tenor Luciano Ganci. Their love is threated by the Princess Amneris, performed by the mezzo-soprano Agnieszka Rehlis, and two peoples at war: on the one hand, the Egypt of the intractable High Priest Ramfis (Alexander Vinogradov) and of the Pharaoh (Simon Lim), and on the other, the Ethiopia of the King and father of Aida, Amonasro, performed by the baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat, the star of the inaugural Nabucco. The cast is completed by Carlo Bosi's Messenger and Francesca Maionchi's High Priestess. Daniel Oren is returning to the Arena podium, conducting the Fondazione Arena Orchestra and the Chorus, prepared by Roberto Gabbiani.
The ‘crystal’ Aida, which will be on stage until September 4 with some of the cast making their debuts, has already broken several records in terms of interest aroused, interactions on social media, TV viewing figures for the live premiere in 2023, average audience numbers and web searches. A rich and powerful show to be enjoyed performance after performance, thanks to LEDs, lasers and transparencies that bring the drama of Verdi's masterpiece to life, by making the very form of the Amphitheatre itself a part of the action. Combining hieroglyphics and high fashion, contrasting colours and unusual materials, with the symbolism of the hand, Poda shows man’s power to create, destroy, pray, fight and love, in a Dantesque journey made by the four hundred artists on stage, including the Dancing coordinated by Gaetano Petrosino, mimes, extras and the Fondazione Arena Technicians.
Performances will also take place on 29 June at 9:30, on 6, 13, 16, 20, 27 July at 9:15 and on 1, 10, 17, 24, 28 August and on 4 September at 9:00. The alternating casts will make each performance of the opera a real ‘first’, with some major artists making their debut, while others return to the scene of past triumphs: for Aida, Marina Rebeka, Aleksandra Kurzak, Olga Maslova and Anna Netrebko; for Radames, the tenors Brian Jagde, Gregory Kunde, Roberto Alagna and Yusif Eyvazov; for Amneris, Anna Maria Chiuri; for Amonasro, Youngjun Park and Ludovic Tézier; in addition to the basses Abramo Rosalen, Giorgi Manoshvili and Ramaz Chikviladze, making his Arena debut. The 6 July will also see a podium debut for director Francesco Ommassini, Venetian by birth, but Veronese by adoption.
Tickets for all dates are already on sale at arena.it, on the Arena di Verona social media channels and on Ticketone. There are special reductions for under-30s and over-65s.
The 2025 Arena di Verona Opera Festival is supported by numerous sponsors, first and foremost UniCredit, whose partnership with the Festival goes back over 25 years. Other sponsors include Calzedonia, Pastificio Rana, Volkswagen Group Italia, DB Bahn, Forno Bonomi, Numia, RTL 102.5, Genny - providers of the uniforms worn by the staff that welcome the public - and Müller, which supports accessibility projects for people with disabilities. Official partners include historic brands such as Veronafiere, Air Dolomiti, A4 Holding, Metinvest, SABA Italia, SDG Group, Sartori di Verona, Palazzo Maffei and Mantova Village. Also on board are Calvisius Arena Foyer, ManPower Group, Consorzio di Tutela dell’Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP, and Ferroli. In addition to companies and private individuals, the partners also include the professional associations that form part of 67 Colonne per l'Arena di Verona, founded by Gianluca Rana of the pasta company of the same name and Sandro Veronesi, patron of the Oniverse Group, with Gruppo Editoriale Athesis as media partner.
