Helga Schmidt: “The Palau de les Arts' version of Aida is musically the best that can be offered today.”

• David McVicar is directing this co-production between the Valencian arts center, London's Covent Garden, and Oslo's Den Norske Opera.

Valencia (11.11.10).- The Director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Helga Schmidt, stated today that the version of Aida by Giuseppe Verdi that will inaugurate the 2010-2011 Season this coming November 13 is “musically the best that can be offered today and I hope that this Aida will go down in the history of the Palau de les Arts.”

Schmidt made these statements at the press conference presenting this co-production led by London's Covent Garden, in which the Valencian arts center and the Norwegian National Opera of Oslo are also participating. Also present were the music director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Lorin Maazel, American soprano Indra Thomas (Aida), Italian mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona (Amneris), and tenor Jorge de León from Tenerife (Radamès).

Scottish artist David McVicar is the author of this new production, with set design by Jean-Marc Puissant, costumes by Moritz Junge, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, and martial arts direction by David Greeves.

As Helga Schmidt explained, David McVicar and his team's approach to staging Aida was to not stay on the surface, to avoid the well-known Egyptian landscape, and to delve deeper into the original story.

“Thus, one discovers within it the themes that most concerned Giuseppe Verdi: the difficult father-daughter relationship, love versus honor and obligation, and, above all, the theme of war, the large nation that tries to crush the smaller ones,” the Mayor emphasized.

In his search for a setting for such a monumental opera, McVicar drew inspiration from a multitude of ancient cultures where ritual and ceremony were paramount. He constructed a mythical land where, visually, one can appreciate an amalgamation of elements from Mayan, Incan, Celtic, Japanese, Syrian, Scandinavian, and African cultures, among others, perfectly defining the archetypes of each character.

Giuseppe Verdi's work is one of Lorin Maazel's signature titles, who shares the musical direction of the Busseto creator's opera with the Israeli Omer Wellber, principal guest conductor of the opera center.

For Maestro Maazel, who is conducting the first cycle of performances of this opera, “ Aida is fundamentally a very intimate opera, which perhaps hasn't reached us correctly through the different performances we know. Because, ultimately, the pyramids, the palm trees, and the sphinxes don't add anything to this story.”

Aida is a love story, Maazel explained, a love triangle with which we can all identify. There's also a political element, represented by Aida's father, Amonasro, who provides an external perspective to the narrative. "I've tried to highlight this intimate, innocent, and pure side," the maestro noted.

Helga Schmidt also emphasized the "undeniable quality" of the production's cast, packed with stars and singers at the height of their careers: Indra Thomas (Aida), Jorge de León (Radamès), Daniela Barcellona (Amneris), Gevorg Hakobyan (Amonasro), Giacomo Prestia (Ramfis), and Marco Spotti (The King). The General Manager also highlighted the presence of Valencian actors Javier Agulló (Messenger) and Sandra Ferrández (Priestess).

Indra Thomas (Aida) highlighted the interest of "this different and innovative production", which relies on the undeniable musical quality of the permanent ensembles of the Valencian arts center, the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and the Cor de la Generalitat.

Daniela Barcellona, who is making her debut at the Palau de les Arts in the role of Amneris, has expressed her satisfaction at returning to Valencia to take on this second challenge in her career, following her acclaimed performance as Didon in Berlioz's Les Troyens last season. "Amneris is a very powerful and complex role, quite a challenge," she emphasized.

Jorge de León (Radamès), well known to the Valencian public after his debut in 2007 as Leonardo in La bruja and his successes at the Palau de les Arts in La vida breve , Cavalleria rusticana and Carmen , has highlighted the demanding nature of McVicar's production, which includes martial arts movements and choreography.

Lorin Maazel will conduct the premiere of this new co-production with London's Covent Garden and Oslo's Den Norske Opera & Ballet this Saturday, November 13, in addition to four other performances on the 19th, 22nd, 25th and 28th of this month.

Omer Wellber makes his debut in the pit of the Main Hall of the Palau de les Arts on December 16. The future music director of the Valencian arts center will conduct three more performances of Aida on the 19th, 23rd, and 29th of that month. Hui He (Aida) leads the cast of this second run of performances, which also includes Marcelo Álvarez (Radamès), Daniela Barcellona (Amneris), Marco Vratogna (Amonasro), Stephen Milling (Ramfis), and Marco Spotti (The King).