Yerevan to host Giuseppe Verdi’s 'Aida'

Under the High Patronage of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida”, one of the renowned masterpieces of the world opera art, will be staged in Yerevan after 69 years' interval, VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of “Mobile TeleSystems” company, announced in a recent news release.

The event is organized by the joint efforts of the Italian Embassy to Armenia, Ministry of Culture. the National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet and Art team.

The general sponsor is VivaCell-MTS which has allocated 217 million Armenian drams for the event. 

"Aida" was first staged in 1871 in Cairo, Egypt. Yerevan hosted its premium performance in 1941, at the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

The upcoming performances will start on December 23 and run through December 26. The stage director of the new opera is Mario Corradi. Hasmik Papian, soprano, and Georgi Oniani, tenor (invited from Vienna and Munich, respectively) will appear on the stage on December 23. On the final two days of the opera (December 25 and 26) the story of the unhappy love between the Captain of the Egyptian guards and the Ethiopian slave will be recounted by Magda Mkrtchyan, Anna Mnatsakanyan, Lilit Soghomonyan, Marine Deinyan, Sargis Aghamalyan, and Ruben Nurijanyan. The crowd scenes will be played by students from the Police Academy of Armenia.

“Nations having opera theatres represent the modern civilised world. For us, Armenians, opera is a great value. The ability of our Opera House to host such masterpieces of world classics testifies to the high level of Armenia’s social and cultural development. VivaCell-MTS company's willingness to lend a helping hand to such initiatives aims to contribute to the modernization of our country's cultural life and promote cultural exchange. Most importantly, this kind of initiatives help educate a new generation of opera singers, performers and artists, as well as opera lovers. That's the key asset we have to preserve,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said. “We should also bear in mind that our Opera House is an important tourist attraction site,” he added. 

Mario Corradi last staged his “Aida” nine years ago in Marseilles. Acting in the role of the chief heroine was Hasmik Papian.