The Met’s New Production of Verdi’s Aida Premieres December 31

Starring Soprano Angel Blue
Directed by Michael Mayer

 First Met new production of Aida in 36 years, with projections by 59

Opening night cast features tenor Piotr Beczała, mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi,  baritone Quinn Kelsey, and basses Dmitry Belosselskiy and Morris Robinson, led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin

The Met: Live in HD transmission of Aida to be broadcast worldwide on January 25

New York, NY (November 26, 2024)—The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Verdi’s Aida opens on Tuesday, December 31, starring soprano Angel Blue in her highly anticipated Met role debut and directed by Tony Award–winner Michael Mayer. Mayer directed this season’s company-premiere production of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded, as well as Met stagings of Verdi’s Rigoletto and La Traviata and Nico Muhly’s Marnie.

This is the first new production of Aida on the Met stage in 36 years, replacing the Sonja Frisell production that retired in 2023 after 262 performances. Inspired by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette—who provided the scenario that Verdi and his librettist adapted into Aida—Mayer frames his new production around a group of early–20th-century Egyptologists.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducts Blue in her first Aida at the Met, following her acclaimed performance as Margarita Xirgu in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar earlier this season. Tenors Piotr Beczała and Brian Jagde alternate as the soldier Radamès. Mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi, following her 2024 debut in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, is Amneris, sharing the role with Elīna Garanča.

The production also includes baritones Quinn Kelsey, Roman Burdenko (in his Met debut), Michael Chioldi, and Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Amonasro and basses Dmitry Belosselskiy, Alexander Vinogradov, and Morris Robinson as Ramfis. Robinson and bass Krzysztof Bączyk share the role of the King. Soprano Christina Nilsson makes her Met debut in the title role in March. Alexander Soddy and John Keenan share conducting duties with Maestro Nézet-Séguin.

Mayer’s creative team includes Broadway veteran set designer Christine Jones, costume designer Susan Hilferty, lighting designer Kevin Adams, projection design by 59, choreographer Oleg Glushkov in his company debut, and production consultant Stephen Pickover.

With 1,191 Met performances since 1886, Aida is the second most performed opera in the company’s repertory.

Fridays Under 40
The Met’s Fridays Under 40 series continues March 14 with a party ahead of the evening performance of Aida. Available exclusively for operagoers 40 and under, the event features complimentary wine, themed activities, and more. All Friday performances at the Met are available to Fridays Under 40 audiences at special discounted rates. For further details, please click here.

Aida Worldwide Broadcasts in Cinema, on Radio, and Online
The performance of Aida on Saturday, January 25, will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the globe as part of the Met’s Live in HD series. Additionally, students and educators across the country will receive complimentary access to screenings of Aida at their local theaters as part of the HD Live in Schools initiative. As part of this program, the opera will also be transmitted live, for free, into participating high schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.

The January 25 performance of Aida will also be broadcast live over The Robert K. Johnson Foundation—Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. The performances on December 31, January 7 and 25, and May 5 will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on the SiriusXM app. Audio from the December 31, January 7, and May 5 performances will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, metopera.org.

Toll Rush Tickets
The Met Opera app is now available for download on mobile devices, offering users a new way to purchase Toll Rush Tickets via an automated lottery. Lotteries open two weeks prior to a performance, and winners are notified the day before the performance. Learn more about the Met Opera app here.

For More Information
For further details on Aida, including casting by date, please click here.