Grand Opera Weekend: Aida and Madama Butterfly in Bucharest
The first weekend of February begins grandly at the National Opera Bucharest with Verdi’s Aida and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
On February 1-2, 2025, the National Opera Bucharest will present two of the most enchanting and popular works from the universal classical repertoire: Verdi’s Aida (February 1) and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (February 2).
Aida (by Giuseppe Verdi) – Saturday, February 1, at 18:30
Beyond the timeless tragic love story between Aida (soprano) and Radamès (tenor), this Verdi opera has an exceptional merit: it addresses a series of thorny political themes that remain highly relevant today. Set during a war between Egypt and Ethiopia, Aida vividly highlights the tension between imperial power and national identity. Aida, an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt, embodies this conflict as she navigates her love for the Egyptian military commander Radamès and her duty to her own country and family. Aida’s internal struggle mirrors the broader political tension of the national building era in which the opera was written (the 19th century), in parallel with the struggles of nations asserting their independence from foreign domination (historically, the Romanian and Italian cases are particularly suggestive in this regard).
Madama Butterfly (by Giacomo Puccini) – Sunday, February 2, at 18:30
Few people know that before becoming one of the most beloved and frequently staged operas in the world, Madama Butterfly was a lamentable failure. Giacomo Puccini composed five different versions of this opera. Due to its delayed completion and insufficient rehearsal time, the first version (from February 17, 1904, which premiered at La Scala in Milan) was a massive failure and was quickly withdrawn. Later, Puccini significantly revised the score, splitting the second act into two separate parts (the Humming Chorus bridging Acts II and III). At the next performance, on May 24, 1904, in Brescia, the revised version was an instant success. The version considered standard today, and the most frequently performed, is the fifth and final version, dating from 1907. Thus, Madama Butterfly not only carries multiple lyrical and musical qualities but also a lesson in perseverance, which we should never forget.
Tickets are available at http://tickets.operanb.ro/ and at the Box Office of the National Opera Bucharest.
Romania Journal is supporting the event as media partner.
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