The Met Opera has announced that for the remainder of the fall run of Aida, the title role will be played by Michelle Bradley, replacing Latonia Moore, who has withdrawn due to illness.
Moore had previously been scheduled to sing the role through December 27th, with Bradley joining the cast in January to sing the last two performances of the run on January 3 and 7. Bradley now joins a cast including Olesya Petrova as Amneris, Brian Jadge as Radamès, George Gagnidze as Amonasro, and Christian Van Horn as Ramfis.
Stating December 13, Anita Rachvelishvili joins the cast as Amneris, and Quinn Kelsey, fresh off his Met performance as the title role in Rigoletto, joins as Amonasro. On January 3 and 7, Amonasro will be played by Luca Salsi. Bradley, Petrova, Gagnidze, and Van Horn, are scheduled to reprise their roles when the production returns in the spring, joined by Marcelo Álvarez as Radamès.
Michelle Bradley made her Met debut in Idomeneo 2017, and her roles at the Met have included Clotilde in Norma and Liù in Turandot. Latonia Moore, who made her Met debut as Aida in 2012, is scheduled to return to the Met stage in Terence Blanchard's Champion in April
Verdi's opera, set in Ancient Egypt, follows a love triangle between Amneris, princess of Egypt, Radamès, an Egyptian soldier, and Aida, a captive Ethiopian princess. Love, politics, and war lead to an operatic conflict that can only end in tragedy. The opera is one of Verdi's best-known, and contains some of the composer's most popular arias and excerpts, including Aida's "Ritorna Vincitor," the tenor aria "Celeste Aida," and the famous Triumphal March in the second act.
Aida is one of the most popular operas in the Met's repertory, having been performed by the company nearly 1,200 times. This season marks the last for the current production by Sonja Frisell, which premiered in 1988, in a performance starring Leona Mitchell. When the work next appears at the Met, it will be in a new production directed by Michael Mayer. Frisell's production may still be seen at the Met this fall through January 7, and in the spring from April 27 through May 18.
