To the Banks of the Sacred Nile…

This Verdi’s work has incredible power. It is impossible not to fall in love with it. On 4 February the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Tatiana Petrova, Ekaterina Golovleva, Stanislav Trifonov, Andrei Valentii, Alexander Keda will tell you the story of love, loyalty, jealousy, anger and betrayal. The young tenor Andrei Matyushonok will perform the role of the Messenger for the first time. The tenor of the Odessa Opera Eduard Martyniuk will appear as Radames.

From the first day of the Aida’s appearance on stage in Cairo and then in Milan in 1871 it really became the most favorite performance of the audience. According to the Egyptologist Auguste Ferdinand Mariette, "the opera of the Pharaonic times" is based on real events. He unearthed the story in the ancient papyrus. And then librettists Antonio Ghislanzoni, Camille du Locle seized it.  Events take us to the capital of Ancient Egypt – Memphis, where the confrontation between Egyptians and Ethiopians hasn't gone down. War becomes an insurmountable obstacle in the way of lovers – the Pharaoh’s slave Ethiopian Princess Aida and Captain of the Guard Radames…

Aida is a true masterpiece, which today is included in the repertoire of almost every opera company in the world. At the Belarusian Bolshoi Giuseppe Verdi’s opera took place in two productions. The first production of the legendary Larisa Alexandrovskaya was performed in the theatre for more than half a century – from 1953 to the early 2000s. On 30 May 2011, the new version of Aida was staged by musical director Vyacheslav Chernukho-Volich, director Mikhail Pandzhavidze, designer Alexander Kostiuchenko and chorus master Nina Lomanovich. The musicians call Aida a reference work of the Italian composer, in which Verdi surpassed himself.

Perhaps, there are no easy roles in Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece Aida (including the role of Radames). On 4 February the soloist of the Odessa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Eduard Martyniuk will perform this role. The winner of international competitions has long conquered the leading venues in Europe, the audience in Zurich, Budapest, Prague, Salzburg, Brno, Erfurt applauded him.

We just want to add that on 4 February the performance will also feature recipient of the Francysk Skaryna medal Tatiana Petrova as Aida, Ekaterina Golovleva as Amneris, the Honoured Artists of the Republic of Belarus Stanislav Trifonov as Amonasro and Andrei Valentii as Ramfis, Alexander Keda as the King of Egypt. Ivan Kostyakhin will conduct.