"Aida" was Giuseppe Verdi’s final
grand opera. Indeed, when he returned to composing operas after
a 16-year retirement following "Aida," Verdi turned
to Shakespearean sources to create his final two masterpieces,
"Otello" and "Falstaff."
Perhaps the composer felt he couldn’t go any further with grand
opera after "Aida." After all, it contains everything
audiences wanted – and still want – from Verdi: forbidden romance
(between an Egyptian officer and an enslaved Ethiopian princess),
exotic locations, a tragic ending and, best of all, Verdi’s soul-stirring
music.
For its first Brooklyn Center appearance, on Feb. 13 at 2 pm,
Opera Verdi Europa (pictured) would seem to have all the ingredients
in place to do justice to both Verdi’s classic score and the
demands of one of his most-beloved operas: the orchestra’s lavish
productions have been praised wherever they perform, particularly
during their debut tour of the United States in 2003. Italian
conductor Luciano di Martino leads the orchestra.
Formed in 1996 by Ivan Kyurkchiev in Bulgaria, Opera Verdi Europa
consists of more than 100 of the best musicians and performers,
and their "Aida" should be the ideal Valentine’s date
for lovers of tragic opera.
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts’ Whitman Theatre is located
one block from the junction of Nostrand and Flatbush avenues.
Tickets are $40. For more information, visit the Web site at
www.brooklyncenter.org.
