Sunday Feature: Aida at 150

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Aida at 150

BBC Radio 3 - Sunday Feature, Aida at 150

Flora Willson tells the story of Verdi's operatic masterpiece from an Egyptian lens.

Historian Flora Willson tells the story of Verdi's operatic masterpiece from an Egyptian lens, a century and a half after its premiere at Cairo's Khedivial Opera House.

This year, Verdi’s operatic masterpiece "Aida" celebrates its 150th anniversary. It’s one of the most famous operas in history - and every year, plays to packed houses across the globe. Yet this quintessentially Italian grand opera in high Romantic style actually made its debut in 1871 at Cairo’s Khedivial Opera House, having been personally commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail the Magnificent.

A century and a half after Aida's premiere, for the first time on radio historian Flora Willson tells the story of Aida from an Egyptian lens. She untangles how Cairo gave birth to Verdi's operatic masterpiece, how Aida's relationship with the Egyptian psyche developed over the next century and a half - and how the work continues to influence and affect how the nation and its music are perceived abroad.

Flora explores the story of the Khedivial Opera House, a building constructed at the heart of 19th-century Cairo's theatre district, and talks to experts in Egyptian history and politics to find out how the European genre of opera was a key part of Khedive Ismail's plans for a modern, powerful Egypt - a country that, he declared, was "no longer part of Africa. It is part of Europe".

What the Khedive requested from Verdi, though, was a "purely ancient and Egyptian opera" - and what Verdi composed resulted from his research into "authentic" Egyptian music, architecture and customs. We hear a performance of traditional Zar music - and discuss the complex and difficult question of how European composers, musicians and directors have appropriated Egyptian culture.

Contributors include the rising star of the opera stage, Egyptian soprano Fatma Said - whose acclaimed voice has taken her from Cairo to the hallowed boards of La Scala in Milan - as well as oud player and vocalist Tarek Beshir and award-winning cultural commentator and journalist Ati Metwaly.

Presenter: Flora Willson
Producer: Steven Rajam
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