VERDI: Aida (Teatro Verdi di Busseto, 2001) (PAL)

• This production of Aida constitutes a remarkable project, with Franco Zeffirelli, legendary film and opera director/producer, staging the ancient Egyptian opera in Verdi’s home town.

• The young singers, all in their mid-twenties, were selected by the legendary tenor Carlo Bergonzi, who tutored them. The result is truly astonishing, not just because they master the tremendously difficult pieces with ease but because they fill these pieces with a vitality and passion too.

• The detailed documentary film conveys additional insights into how the production came about.

“Every gesture, every movement, every note seems to come from the very soul of [Adina Aaron’s] being and her naturally shaped singing, care over dynamic contrasts and sheer beauty of tone bespeak an auspicious future. As it is she moved me as much as any Aida since the young Leontyne Price and to judge from the audience’s reaction they shared my enthusiasm and respect for her portrayal.”The Gramophone