In celebration of the 20 th anniversary of establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and co-produced with the Shanghai Opera House, Opera Hong Kong proudly presents Giuseppe Verdi’s 4-act opera Aïda on Oct 10-15, 2017, at the Grand Theatre of Hong Kong Cultural Centre at 7:30pm. These performances feature a stellar cast including He Hui, the most famous Chinese soprano of our times, has made Aïda a trademark role. Debuted her Aïda in Vienna to enormous acclaim, she has sung the role at all major opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala of Milan and the Arena of Verona Opera. African-American soprano Kristin Lewis has successfully portrayed Aïdas in Vienna, Berlin and Naples. She was hand-picked by Zubin Mehta in 2015 for the first new production of Aïda at La Scala of Milan, probably the most demanding Italian opera house. The phenomenal Beijing-born bass Hao Jiang Tian has performed over 1300 performances around the world, and has been associated with the New York Met for over 20 years. He is also the author of the autobiography “Along the Roaring River: My wild ride from Mao to the Met”. Opera Hong Kong presents the production at its best by bringing a combined orchestra of Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, two reputable mainland China orchestras under the baton of Xu Zhong, one of the busiest musicians with a career spanning Italy, Israel and China. Opera Hong Kong Chorus will join forces with Shanghai Opera House Dance Ensemble to relive the spectacular scenes including the monumental Triumphant March which require huge choir, dancers and supernumeraries. With support from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Aïda will be held on Oct 10 (Tue) to Oct 15 (Sun) at 7:30 pm starring world-class international vocalists at the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

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About Aïda Verdi’s Aïda is the greatest story of love of an Ethiopian princess, Aïda and an Egyptian military hero, Radamès. During the Pharaoh era, the two nations Ethiopian and Egypt were at war in ancient Egypt. Princess Aïda was captured and enslaved. Radamès, the man she was secretly in love with, was betrothed to the powerful Princess of Egypt, Amneris. Celebrating the victory with dances and music; and facing the dilemma of love and patriotism, Radamès decided to set Aïda and the King of Ethiopia free. Unexpectedly, Amneris who was spying on Radamès, discovered the escape of the love birds. Radamès was sentenced to be buried alive. Aïda went to the vault and decided to die in Radamès arms. The classic love tragedy along with the spectacularly soaring music continues to thrill audience worldwide.

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Creative Team Producer：Warren Mok Conductor：Xu Zhong Stage Director and Set Designer：Jean-Louis Grinda Costume Designer：Francoise Raybaud Lighting Designer：Francoise Thouret Choreographer：Eugenie Andrin Assistant Conductor：Roberto Moretti Chorus Director：Alex Tam Performers 10, 12, 14 Oct Cast List Aïda：He Hui (10 Oct)｜Marjorie Owens (12, 14 Oct) Radamès：Riccardo Massi Amneris：Violeta Urmana Amonasro：Reginald Smith Jr (10, 12, 13 Oct) Ramfis：Hao Jiang Tian King of Egypt：Igor Durlovski 11, 13, 15 Oct Cast List Aïda：Kristin Lewis (11, 13, 15 Oct) Radamès：Najmiddin Mavlyanov Amneris：Nino Surguladze Amonasro：Sun Li (11, 14, 15 Oct) Ramfis：Paul Gay King of Egypt：Freddie Tong Left：He Hui (10 Oct)｜Middle：Marjorie Owens (12, 14 Oct)｜Right：Kristin Lewis (11, 13, 15 Oct) Upper Left：Riccardo Massi｜Upper Right：Najmiddin Mavlyanov Bottom Left：Violeta Urmana｜Bottom Right：Nino Surguladze Shanghai Opera House Orchestra Suzhou Symphony Orchestra Opera Hong Kong Chorus Shanghai Opera House Dance Ensemble