“Aida” and “Giselle” at the Dubai Opera. Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera on tour

Over 300 people in 8 transfer groups will travel to Dubai. The first employees flew out on Sunday, September 8 – this is the technical crew responsible for assembling the scenography for Aida (performances on September 13, 14 and 15). The Dubai Opera stage is smaller than the one in Warsaw; this means that the workshops had to adapt the scenography elements to other dimensions. Some costumes also had to be reworked, in this case for cultural reasons: additional material was sewn onto the costumes of the temple dancers from Aida to cover the women’s arms and bellies.

The scenography and costumes in huge containers (over 12 m long and 20 tons of cargo) have been traveling by ship to Duba for the past two months. Interestingly, 9 of the 10 containers were occupied by the loading of Aida, and only 1 by Giselle.

For the main, demanding parts in Aida (the title role, Amneris, Radames, Ramfis, Amonasro) two casts were hired, in the classical Giselle (performances on 18, 19, 20 and 21[x2] September) the Dubai audience will see three casts of artists from the Polish National Ballet (a total of about 70 dancers).

The artists, along with the Polish National Opera orchestra of over 90 people and a choir of around 70 people, will perform under the baton of Patrick Fournillier.

On September 22, the Polish National Opera orchestra, together with the Dubai Festival Choir, will perform the legendary 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the work’s creation.

This is not the first time that the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera has received an invitation from the Dubai Opera. In 2018, they performed Tchaikovsky’s Onegin and Aida in the United Arab Emirates. The building, opened in 2016, was designed by the Dane Janus Rostock (modeled on a dhow – a traditional Arab boat), which can accommodate 2,000 people in the audience. The opera is currently the most important arts centre in the Middle East, artists and groups from all over the world come here, presenting theatre, ballet, opera and musical performances, also classical music concerts, exhibitions, fashion shows, conferences and other events.

AIDA

Creators:

Conductor: Patrick Fournillier
Direction, scenography and lighting concept: Roberto Laganà Manoli
Choir preparation: Mirosław Janowski
Choreography: Emil Wesołowski

Cast:

Aida: Marigona Qerkezi (13,15/09), Oxana Nosatova (14/09)
Amneris: Agnieszka Rehlis (13,15/09), Monika Ledzion (14/09)
Radames: Hovhannes Ayvazyan (13,15/09), Milen Bozhkov (14/09)
Amonastro: Andrzej Dobber (13,15/09), Stepan Drobit (14/09)
Ramfis: Iura Maimescu (13,15/09), Remigiusz Łukomski (14/09)
Pharaoh: Bartosz Kieszkowski
Priest: Katarzyna Trylnik
Messenger: Piotr Maciejowski

GISELLE

Creators:

Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot
Ballet production: Maina Gielgud
Conductor: Patrick Fournillier
Scenography and costumes: Andrzej Kreutz Majewski
Adaptation of scenography projects: Małgorzata Szabłowska
Adaptation of costume projects: Katarzyna Rott

Cast:

Giselle: Chinara Alizade, Jaeeun Jung, Mai Kageyama
Prince Albert of Silesia: Vladimir Yaroshenko, Ryota Kitai, Marco Juusela
Mirta: Natalia Pasiut, Hannah Cho, Yana Shtanhei
Hilarion: Kristóf Szabó, Paweł Koncewoj, Adam Huczka
Prince of Courland: Łukasz Tużnik
Batylda: Irina Wasilewska, Oliwia Górecka
Berta: Marta Fiedler
Pas de deux village: Mai Kageyama, Laurence Elliott, Yume Okano, Diogo de Oliveira, Aoi Choji, Kasper Górczak
Wilfry: Gregor Giselbrecht, Tomasz Fabiański
Willida 1: Aoi Choji, Mar Bonet Sans, Yume Okano
Willida 2: Aneta Zbrzeźniak, Paulina Magier, Nika Afonina