Verdi’s classic opera Aida will take the stage this October at Gozo’s Aurora after a two-year wait. The opera was originally slated for 2020 but was foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This autumn’s Aida, on October 15, will include scenery by the world-famous Franco Zeffirelli and costumes by his lifelong colleague Anna Anni.

Stage direction will be once again entrusted to Vivien Hewitt, who helped make the project possible and was involved in adapting the original 2001 Zeffirelli staging of the opera for Gozo’s Aurora theatre.

Best remembered for his Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and Jesus of Nazareth films, Franco Zeffirelli is often associated with colossal operatic staging, like Turandot, Carmen, Traviata and Aida, currently packing the Verona Arena.

Production to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Verdi’s death

Likewise, Aida is usually perceived as an opera of and for the masses, with oversized choruses and triumphant processions. But, with this particular production, Zeffirelli is intent on showing how intimate an opera Aida is, even when throngs of people are singing the most rousing of patriotic choruses.

Hewitt, who first met Zeffirelli in 1989, says she particularly loves this 2001 production conceived for the prestigious Verdi Festival at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto and is looking to create a faithfully Verdian interpretation of this 150-year-old opera masterpiece.

This Zeffirelli Aida production was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Verdi’s death, specifically for the intimate theatre in the composer’s hometown of Busseto. Yet, contrary to so many perceptions, the smaller dimensions of stage amplify the illusion of the immensity of Ancient Egypt and the aura of the exotic mystique the opera needs to create.

Aida at the Aurora Theatre is being supported by Arts Council Malta in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo. Tickets are on sale from here.