Aida at Teatro Massimo, Palermo: tradition as an excuse
Aida is one of Verdi’s most layered and uncomfortable operas. Beneath the grandeur of its triumphal scenes lies a fierce critique of political and religious power, a devastating portrait of emotional coercion between father and daughter, and a world in which private feeling is systematically crushed by institutions that leave no room for escape. Its themes, such as war, exile and the impossible choice between love and loyalty, resonate with striking urgency today.
Little of that tension emerges in Mario Pontiggia’s new production at Teatro Massimo. The Argentine director had promised a traditional staging that would gradually move from spectacle toward psychological intimacy. Instead, what appears on stage feels dramatically cautious and emotionally remote, smoothing over the opera’s political unease and reducing the drama to a conventional love story.
The lavish costumes and monumental scenery, together with the triumphal march in Act II, provide the production’s few moments of genuine visual excitement. Luigia Frattaroli’s choreography for the Corps de Ballet also brings welcome movement and vitality. Otherwise, the staging remains stubbornly static. Characters frequently stand planted downstage, delivering emotions frontally with little sense of physical interaction or psychological danger. Even scenes of confrontation feel curiously inert, as though carefully arranged rather than genuinely lived.
Only the quality of several musical performances prevents the evening from drifting entirely into routine. Verdi the political animal is not entirely absent here, but he is largely domesticated.
The musical side of the evening tells a far more convincing story. Conductor Daniele Callegari keeps orchestra and chorus in firm, experienced hands, maintaining dramatic tension while never allowing the orchestra to swamp the singers. This balance is more difficult to achieve in Aida than it may appear, particularly in Teatro Massimo’s acoustic, yet Callegari manages it with admirable consistency.
Maria José Siri sings Aida with a beautiful, evenly produced voice and secure phrasing. Vocally, the performance is consistently impressive. Dramatically, however, the character’s inner conflict never fully comes into focus. Aida should exist in constant tension: prisoner and princess, victim and manipulator, daughter and lover. Here, her stage presence remains largely conventional, and one senses the production offers few interpretative tools with which to deepen the role.
The evening’s most complete performance comes from Daniela Barcellona as Amneris. Her portrayal is psychologically rich and finely nuanced, capturing the character’s conflict between regal authority and emotional vulnerability with the elegance of a seasoned bel canto stylist. The legato remains exemplary, although some strain occasionally appears in the lower register, essential for conveying Amneris’s darker and more domineering side.
Angelo Villari comes closest to transcending the production’s limitations. His Radamès combines strong projection, ringing top notes and beautifully controlled head-voice pianissimi. Yet dramatically the character remains insufficiently defined, drifting uncertainly between military hero, reluctant lover and exhausted martyr.
Claudio Sgura gives a convincing performance as Amonasro, clearly shaping the character as a calculating political manipulator willing to weaponise his own daughter. Giovanni Battista Parodi is somewhat underpowered as Ramfis, while Manuel Fuentes delivers a solid Il Re. Anna Ryabenkaya makes an excellent impression as the Priestess.
What finally remains is a cast of genuine vocal distinction supported by a conductor of real authority. But Verdi’s Aida demands a director willing to confront the opera’s cruelty, political ambiguity and disturbing modernity. Pontiggia, despite moments of visual beauty, ultimately chooses caution over confrontation.
Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Italy
AIDA – Opera in four acts
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni
Conductor Daniele Callegari
Director Mario Pontiggia
Orchestra, Chorus and Corps de Ballet of Teatro Massimo di Palermo
Cast includes: Maria José Siri, Daniela Barcellona , Angelo Villari, Claudio Sgura,
Giovanni Battista Parodi, Manuel Fuentes, Anna Ryabenkaya
Co-production with the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb and the Csokonai National
Theatre Debrecen
Running time: 3 hours and 30 minutes including two intervals
Until 31 May 2026
Photo credit: Rosellina Garbo