CreatripTeam

Verdi’s late masterpiece Aida returns to the stage after 11 years as the Seoul City Opera’s 40th anniversary production at Sejong Center’s Grand Theater. The large-scale production features more than 200 performers, including the Seoul City Choir and Winner Opera Choir, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic, ballet, elaborate sets and a nearly 100-member chorus in the famous Triumph March. Leading singers include soprano Lim Se-kyung (who has performed Aida over 100 times), Cho Sun-hyung (soprano), tenors Shin Sang-geun and Guk Yun-jong, and mezzo-sopranos Yang Song-mi and Kim Se-rin, appearing in two casts. Conductor Kim Bong-mi and director Lee Hoi-su said the staging emphasizes the original spirit and emotional depth of the score, aiming to highlight both the grand, public spectacle and the intimate conflicts of the characters. The production will use wide-stage video projections and a rotating stage for the Triumph March, and explores themes tied to the Nile and transitions between life and death (삼도천 — a traditional concept of a river separating life and the afterlife). Performances run November 13–16 at Sejong Center’s Grand Theater (세종문화회관 대극장).