The opening night of the 100th Verona Arena Opera Festival will be broadcast live on Rai1 by Rai Cultura on June 16, 2023 at 9 p.m. local time.

The new production of Verdi’s “Aida,” directed by Stefano Poda, will star Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Olesya Petrova, Roman Burdenko, and Michele Pertusi. Marco Armiliato conducts.

“The audience will be greeted with a grand installation: modernity is not merely about chasing after the contemporary but taking a leap into the future. The ancient Egyptian heritage becomes Verdi’s own, transformed into an all-Italian treasure represented within a secular cathedral—a sacred and age-old space ready to harness the finest energy Italy has to offer,” said Poda of his new production in an official press statement issued by the company.

Subsequent performances of the opera will also star Gregory Kunde, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ludovic Tézier, Anna Pirozzi, and Elena Stikhina, among others.