New dates have been set. One year for the organisation and promotion of the largest tour ever undertaken. Gasdia: “We will write a page in the history of Italian opera.” Trespidi: “A tribute to Maestro Zeffirelli.”
Giuseppe Verdi’s monumental AIDA, in the legendary production by Franco Zeffirelli, will be in Australia in February 2027. Following the postponement announced a few months ago, the new event dates have now been confirmed: Friday 26 and Saturday 27 February 2027, at Adelaide Oval. Fondazione Arena di Verona will stage the queen of operas as part of the Adelaide Festival 2027.
Exactly 25 years after its debut at the Arena (summer 2002), Maestro Zeffirelli’s production will leave Italy for the first time and land in Australia together with all the artistic and technical forces of Fondazione Arena di Verona. A historic event: an entire Italian theatre travelling to Australia. A project of international scope celebrating one of the most recognised symbols of Italian cultural excellence: opera singing, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Originally scheduled for February 2026, the production was postponed due to delays caused by complications in the export and transport procedures of 28 containers holding costumes, sets, instruments and technical equipment. The confirmation of the new dates, a year in advance, will allow all production timelines to be met.
The production will involve 389 international artists and technicians from Fondazione Arena di Verona, alongside 300 local professionals, including the State Opera South Australia Chorus. In the pit, 106 musicians from the Orchestra of Fondazione Arena di Verona. The staging will be Franco Zeffirelli’s, revived by Stefano Trespidi, his long-time collaborator. The event is produced by TEG Live with the support of the Government of South Australia, the Adelaide Economic Development Agency and the City of Adelaide, in collaboration with State Opera South Australia, and is officially included in the programme of the Adelaide Festival 2027.
Set in ancient Egypt, AIDA will come to life under the stars of Adelaide Oval with imposing scenery, sumptuous costumes and cinematic-scale spectacle, offering Australian audiences an operatic experience unlike any before.
Tim McGregor, Global Head of Touring at TEG: “AIDA is one of the most significant cultural events ever to arrive in Australia. Presenting Zeffirelli’s iconic production in Adelaide for the first time represents a historic moment for live performance.”
Cecilia Gasdia, Superintendent of Fondazione Arena di Verona: “We are proud to bring Maestro Zeffirelli’s art to the world. This production will be seen during the Arena Opera Festival 2026, after which the sets and costumes will leave Verona and, after a three-month sea voyage, arrive in Australia. For the first time, an entire continent will be able to see this monumental staging outside Italy. It will be an extraordinary event. Institutional interest is already very high; we have one year to write a page in the history of Italian opera.”
Stefano Trespidi, Deputy Artistic Director of Fondazione Arena di Verona: “We will be part of one of the most important international performing arts festivals in the Southern Hemisphere, a great opportunity we have been working on for years, a tribute to opera and to Maestro Zeffirelli. Naturally, fitting together all the pieces required for such a complex tour has not been easy; now we have a year to turn a dream into reality: becoming the first Italian opera house in Australia.”
Matthew Lutton, Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival: “We are delighted to welcome AIDA as the first addition to the Adelaide Festival 2027 programme. It will be an epic companion to a selection of the finest international productions of opera, theatre and dance currently being planned for the 2027 festival.”
Tickets are already on sale at www.aidaadelaide.com.au
(Source: Fondazione Arena di Verona / Magazine / News – https://www.arena.it/)
