Verdi: Aida

For this opera Giuseppe Verdi took up the story of Aida, the Nubian princess whose enslavement spurred romantic anguish, war, and, ultimately tragedy for herself and her heroic lover Radames. Winning the BBC Music Magazine Award in 2016 for Recording of the Year, as well as the publication’s Opera Award, Pappano’s interpretation of Verdi’s dramatic masterwork is triumphant and turbulent. Anja Harteros shines as Aida, especially in the moving aria “Ritorna vincitor!,” while the remarkable Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia perfectly captures the electric and heart-rending essence of this powerful Italian opera.