»Aida« von Giuseppe Verdi

In the organizer's words:

Egypt is at war with Ethiopia. Theocratic state structures prevail and the king is under the thumb of the high priest Ramfis. The Ethiopian princess Aida is a slave of the Egyptian king's daughter Amneris. Both are in love with the young Egyptian Radamès, who reciprocates Aida's feelings. Now he is to go to war as a general against his lover's people. - Verdi's Aida tells the story of how people try to follow their inner compass in the face of inhumane circumstances, but also how they are instrumentalized and ultimately broken by merciless power structures.

Lydia Steier's reading of the individual conflicts as well as the large choral scenes brings the timeless core questions of the opera to a head. All the more impressive is Amneris' final plea for peace, which Verdi sets against the relentless priestly chorus, while Aida and Radamès come together for one last moment of shared happiness with their duet "O terra, addio" to bid farewell to the world.