Violeta Urmana, Dolora Zajick, and Johan Botha Star in The MET's Revival of Verdi's Aida, Runs Thru 4/3

Verdi's grand Egyptian pageant, Aida, returns to the Met stage with soprano Violeta Urmana singing the title role for the first time with the company and mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as Amneris, one of her most renowned interpretations. Heldentenor Johan Botha sings Radamès, a role for which he was acclaimed in the 2006 revival, joined by baritone Carlo Guelfi as Amonasro, bass Roberto Scandiuzzi as Ramfis, and bass Stefan Kocán, who makes his Met debut as the King. Italian maestro Daniele Gatti returns to the Met for the first time in more than a decade to conduct the revival. Alexei Ratmansky, artist-in-residence with American Ballet Theatre and former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, makes his Met debut creating new choreography for the Aida ballets. Performances run through April 3.

Aida will be transmitted live into movie theaters around the world on October 24 as part of The Met: Live in HD series, hosted by Renée Fleming and directed by Gary Halvorson.

In later performances, soprano Hasmik Papian sings Aida; tenors Richard Margison and Salvatore Licitra return as Radamès; basses Orlin Anastassov and Carlo Colombara are Ramfis, and bass Keith Miller appears as the King. The conductor is Paolo Carignani. The production is by Sonja Frisell; the set designer is Gianni Quaranta; Dada Saligeri created the costumes; the lighting designer is Gil Wechsler.

About the performers

Soprano Violeta Urmana adds two major Verdi heroines to her Met repertoire this season: the title role in Aida and Odabella in the Met premiere of Attila in a new production conducted by Riccardo Muti in February. A native of Lithuania, she has sung numerous dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano roles since her 2001 Met debut as Kundry in Parsifal: Princess Eboli in Don Carlo; the title roles in both La Gioconda and Ariadne auf Naxos; Maddalena in Andrea Chénier; and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana. Urmana also appeared as the Wood Dove in the 2001 Met premiere of Gurrelieder with the MET Orchestra and Music Director James Levine in Carnegie Hall.

Armenian-born soprano Hasmik Papian returns to the role of her 1999 Met debut, Aida. She has sung two other Verdi roles at the Met: Leonora in Il Trovatore, which she performed last season, as well as Lady Macbeth. Originally trained as a violinist, she is now known as both a Verdi and a bel canto soprano and has also sung the title role of Norma at the Met. Elsewhere this season she sings Tosca (Oviedo Opera, Vienna State Opera), Norma (Vancouver Opera), and Lady Macbeth (Dresden State Opera).

Dolora Zajick first sang Amneris at the Met on opening night of the 1989-90 season, and has performed it more than 60 times since. Particularly admired for her Verdi portrayals, she made her Met debut in 1988 as Azucena in Il Trovatore (a role in which she made a triumphant appearance last season in David McVicar's new production), and has also sung Princess Eboli in Don Carlo and Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera. In addition, she was Elvira Griffiths in the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy (2005), Je?ibaba in the Met premiere of Rusalka (1993), Adalgisa in a new production of Norma (2001), Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Marfa in Khovanshchina.

Johan Botha returns as Radamès, which he last sang at the Met in 2006. Last season the South African tenor appeared in the final staging of Otto Schenk's Der Ring des Nibelungen, as Siegmund in Die Walküre. Since his 1997 Met debut as Canio in Pagliacci, he has sung many major roles: Florestan in Fidelio, Calàf in Turandot, and Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, as well as the title roles in Don Carlo, Otello, and Lohengrin.

Canadian tenor Richard Margison reprises the role of Radamès. He has sung in a wide repertoire at the Met since his 1995 debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly: Pollione in a new production of Norma (2001); Don José in Carmen; Calàf in Turandot; Manrico in Il Trovatore; the title role in Don Carlo; Faust in Mefistofele; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos; and Florestan in Fidelio.

Salvatore Licitra takes on the role of Radamès, a part he sang to acclaim in the Met's 2005 revival. This season he also performs Luigi in Il Tabarro and Calàf in Turandot. The Italian tenor made a dramatic Met debut in 2002 as a last-minute replacement for Luciano Pavarotti, singing Cavaradossi in Tosca in a performance that was projected on a screen to a large crowd on the Lincoln Center Plaza. He first sang Luigi in the new production of Il Trittico (2007) that was transmitted globally on The Met: Live in HD and has also appeared as Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino; Canio in Pagliacci; Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana; and Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera.

Carlo Guelfi, who made his debut as Scarpia in Tosca in 2002, expands his Verdi repertoire at the Met with Amonasro. The baritone, a native of Rome, was Iago in Otello on Opening Night of the 2004-05 season, and has also sung the title role in Rigoletto with the company. Last season he appeared as Barnaba in La Gioconda.

Bass Roberto Scandiuzzi makes a pair of Met role debuts this season: Ramfis in Aida as well as Don Basilio in IL Barbiere di Siviglia. He made his company debut in 1995 in another Verdi role, Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, and went on to sing Padre Guardiano in a new production of La Forza del Destino (1996); Dosifei in Khovanshchina; Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande; and Timur in Turandot.

Orlin Anastassov is also making two role debuts this season, as Ramfis and as Don Basilio in IL Barbiere di Siviglia. The Bulgarian bass, who won first prize in Plácido Domingo's Operalia competition in 1999, made his 2008 Met debut as Alvise in La Gioconda. He sings many Verdi roles-Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino (San Francisco Opera), Attila (Royal Opera, Covent Garden), Ferrando in Il Trovatore (Paris Opera), Philip II in Don Carlo (Royal Opera, Covent Garden)-as well as bel canto roles, such as Oroveso in Norma (Rome Opera).

Italian bass Carlo Colombara reprises the role of his 1995 company debut, Ramfis, which he last sang at the Met in 2007. His repertoire extends from Verdi- Count Walter in Luisa Miller (Bavarian State Opera, Munich), Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino (La Monnaie, Brussels)- to bel canto and French works, including Balthazar in La Favorite (Maestranza Theater, Seville), Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor (La Scala), and Escamillo in Carmen (Rome Opera).

Stefan Kocán makes his Met debut as the King. Elsewhere this season, the young Slovakian bass sings Banquo in Macbeth (Vienna State Opera, Cologne Opera), the Water Spirit in Rusalka (Prague's National Opera), and Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino (Vienna State Opera). He has recently sung such roles as Zaccaria in Nabucco (Graz Opera; Bavarian State Opera), Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Vienna State Opera), and Micha in The Bartered Bride (Paris Opera).

American bass Keith Miller makes his role debut as the King. The former professional football player appeared frequently last season, as a soldier in Salome, which was seen worldwide on The Met: Live on HD, as Monterone in Rigoletto, and both Bonze and the Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, which was also part of the HD series. Miller has sung a variety of roles since his Met debut as the Commissioner in the new production premiere of Madama Butterfly (2006), including a Murderer in a new production of Macbeth (2007); Wagner in Faust; and Guccio in Gianni Schicchi in a new production of Il Trittico (2007), also seen in the HD series. This past summer he, together with his wife, soprano Joyce El-Khoury, and pianist Vlad Iftinca, gave three concerts in New York City parks as part of the Met's Summer Recital Series.

Daniele Gatti conducts Aida for the first time at the Met. It marks the return of the Italian maestro, who last appeared with the company in the 1994-95 season, when he made his debut with Madama Butterfly. Currently music director of the Orchestre National de France, he was recently appointed conductor laureate of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he served as music director for 13 years. Gatti was music director of the Accademia di Saint Cecilia in Rome from 1992 to 1997; principal guest conductor of London's Royal Opera House from 1994 to 1997; as well as music director of the Teatro Comunale in Bologna from 1997 to 2007. He is a frequent guest with major orchestra and opera companies throughout the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw, La Scala, the Bayreuth Festival, and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He has been appointed as the next principal conductor of the Zurich Opera, beginning in 2010.

Paolo Carignani made his Met debut last season with La Traviata. The conductor, a native of Milan, was music director of the Frankfurt Opera from 1999 to 2008. This season, Verdi dominates his schedule: he leads performances of Simon Boccanegra (Vienna State Opera), Otello (Berlin's Deutsche Oper), Nabucco (Vienna State Opera), Macbeth (Munich State Opera), and La Forza del Destino (Vienna State Opera), as well as Tosca (Zurich Opera) and Alceste (Leipzig Opera).

Alexei Ratmansky, one of today's most celebrated choreographers, makes his Met debut with Aida. A native of St. Petersburg, he recently began a five-year appointment as artist-in-residence with American Ballet Theatre. Formerly a principal dancer with Ukrainian National Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet, he was artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet from 2004 to 2008. He has created works for many internationally renowned companies, including the Dutch National Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Swedish Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and San Francisco Ballet.

Live broadcasts around the world

Aida will be experienced by millions of people around the world this season in movie theaters and on the radio and the internet, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.

The season premiere on October 2 will be broadcast live on the Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM channel 79 as will the performances on October 12, 21, November 2, and April 3.

The performance on October 2 will also be available via RealNetworks internet streaming at the Met's web site, www.metopera.org.

 

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