Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (1871), with a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, is reimagined by director Noa Naamat and designer Bettina John at the Staatstheater Darmstadt as a stark, contemporary vision of love and loss in a war-torn world. Set within a ruined landscape where children play among the debris, the production transforms Verdi’s grandeur into an intimate reflection on survival and the fragile persistence of hope. The children embody the possibility of renewal amid devastation, while the staging moves beyond spectacle to explore war, identity, and human vulnerability — ending on a note that, while tragic, leaves space for empathy and hope.
Conductor: Johannes Zahn
Director: Noa Naamat
Set Design: Bettina John, Noa Naamat
Costume Design: Bettina John
Stage Combat: Atef Vogel
Lighting Design: Noa Naamat, Heiko Steuernagel
Aida: Megan Marie Hart
Radames: Matthew Vickers
Amneris: Irina Ignata / Katrin Gerstenberger
Amonasro: Aris Argiris
Ramfis: Zaza Gagua
King: Johannes Seokhoon Moon
Messenger: Marco Mondragón
Grande Sacerdotessa: Ofeliya Pogosyan / Jana Baumeister
Opernchor des Staatstheaters Darmstadt
Der Extra-Chor des Staatstheaters Darmstadt
Staatsorchester Darmstadt
Statisterie des Staatstheaters Darmstadt
Production Photos by Nils Heck
