THE ASSOCIATES PRESS

Aida Operama Montreal

Crowd Of 30,000 Watch Verdi’s Spectacular Opera In Baseball Stadium MONTREAL – Thirty thousand fans paid up to $125 each to watch the most grandiose operatic production in Canadian history, complete with elephants, tigers and a 14-foot python. It was Verdi’s spectacular ″Aida,″ in a production first staged last year next to the Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, where the opera is set. Tenor Nicola Martinucci won an ovation for his ringing Radames, but a echo in Olympic Stadium affected the delicate soprano of Katia Ricciarelli as Aida. A giant 46-foot Sphinx was the centerpiece on stage Thursday night, constructed in the middle of the domed stadium’s baseball field, normally the home of the Montreal Expos. Operama – International Opera Festival impresario and maestro, Giuseppe Raffa conducted a 120-piece orchestra and 140-member chorus. The production will travel to Sydney, Australia, in December, Tokyo in March and Vancouver in May.