Tonight María José Siri will return to the Arena di Verona in the title role of Aida in Franco Zeffirelli’s staging conducted by Jordi Bernacer. The other main roles will be sung by Violeta Urmana, Marco Berti, Sebastian Catana, Rafal Siwek and Romano Dal Zovo.

“Franco Zeffirelli created true magic with this opulent mise-en-scène, breathtaking sets and Anna Anni’s gorgeous costumes”, says the Uruguayan soprano. “My Aida continues to change from one production to the next, with different stage directors and conductors. I can interpret her as a docile and submissive slave or a warrior princess, with thousands of nuances between the two extremes. What never changes is that musically Aida is a dream. It is my most performed role with over 100 performances and 22 productions in 14 years.”

María José Siri made her debut as Aida in 2004 in Argentina and later reprised the role in Stuttgart, Bregenz, Hamburg, Montevideo, Cairo, Tel Aviv, São Paolo, Tokyo and Milan, to name only a few cities. She made her Arena di Verona debut in 2013 as Aida in the staging by La fura dels Baus, reprising the production in 2014. In 2015 she celebrated her 100th performance of Aida in Franco Zeffirelli’s staging at the Arena. More recently she sang the role at the Arena di Verona in Gianfranco de Bosio’s historic staging in 2016 and 2017.

[Photo: Ennevi / Fondazione Arena di Verona]