Met Live Brings 'Aida,' Verdi's Grandest Opera, to Life with New Cast

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From left, Liudmyla Monastyrska plays Aida, the enslaved princess of Ethiopia who serves the Pharoah’s daughter Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina. They are both in love with Radamès.

• The Metropolitan Opera production of “Aida” showcases sets, costumes, pageantry and music at its greatest.
• Roberto Alagna portrays Radamès, the Egyptian soldier who defeats Ethiopia in battle, whose tragic love for Aida seals his fate.

POTSDAM, NY (12/12/2012)(readMedia)-- Giuseppe Verdi's grandest opera, "Aida," will return to The Met: Live in HD this weekend, with an exciting new cast. "Aida" screens live on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Potsdam's Roxy Theater.

Verdi's drama sets the romantic tragedy of a slave, a princess and a military hero in the opulent setting of the temples, palaces and tombs of ancient Egypt. Metropolitan Opera principal conductor Fabio Luisi will conduct the work for the first time at the Met, with a cast led by young Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, in her triumphant Met debut.

As Amneris, Aida's rival, mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina will make her first Met Live appearance in one her most acclaimed roles. Roberto Alagna will sing the role of Radamès, the soldier both women are in love with. George Gagnidze plays Amonasro, Aida's exiled father and the general of the Ethiopian army.

"If you've ever wondered why they call it a 'grand' opera, the magnificent Met Opera production of Verdi's 'Aida' ... can show you what the fuss is all about," said Wilborn Hampton, opera critic for the Huffington Post. "This production is a reminder why Verdi's great Egyptian triumph has captivated audiences for 140 years."

Verdi's "Aida" will screen live from the Metropolitan Opera stage at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Potsdam's Roxy Theater. There will be an encore screening at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27. The opera will be performed in Italian, with English subtitles. The approximate running time is four hours, with two intermissions.

The 2012-13 season of The Met: Live in HD is sponsored in the North Country by SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and J.S. Cinemas. All productions will be shown live worldwide on Saturdays. There will also be encore presentations offered on Sundays locally. For complete information on the season in store, visit www.metopera.org/hdlive.

In The Met: Live in HD, robotic cameras, strategically placed around and behind the stage, capture the beauty and power of live performance from striking angles, and heighten attention to both performance and production. Intermission features and English subtitles bring the stories to life.

Tickets are on sale now. Prices are the lowest available in the nation: $18 for an adult, $15 for senior citizens, $12 for students and $9 for youth age 18 and under.

Tickets are available by calling the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277, or visiting the Roxy Theater or Northern Music & Video in downtown Potsdam or the CPS Box Office in the lobby of Sara M. Snell Music Theater. You can also reserve tickets online by visiting www.cpspotsdam.org or www2.potsdam.edu/cps/eventpgs/methd.html.

For more information on the 2012-13 The Met: Live in HD season, visit www.metopera.org.

To learn more about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and its award-winning opera program, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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