A love triangle from the Metropolitan Opera with tenor Piotr Beczała in selected cinemas across Poland

The Metropolitan Opera in New York continues its tradition of opening a new show on the last day of the year. In 2024, it unveiled the production of “Aida” directed by Michael Mayer. The opera replaced the legendary staging of “Aida” by Sonja Frisell, which had been performed continuously since 1988. The opening night cast featured Polish tenor Piotr Beczała (Radames), accompanied on stage by Los Angeles-born soprano Angel Blue in the role of Aida and Romanian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as Amneris.

Giuseppe Verdi’s monumental opera tells the story of forbidden love between Aida – the beautiful Nubian princess taken captive by the Egyptians, and the Egyptian army leader Radames who is engaged to Amneris, the pharaoh’s daughter. Aida is faced with a very difficult decision – follow her heart or save her homeland.

The New York premiere received wide coverage in the press due to… the Polish singer’s indisposition. New York Times music critic Zachary Woolfe wrote in his review: ...this usually superb tenor was obviously sick, and it was announced at the end of intermission that he was recovering from a bad cold. Why, then, did the Met’s administration let him go on in the first place – and then return in the second half? – asks the reviewer. Beczała himself, despite his regular involvement with fans on social media, has not commented on the New Year’s Eve performance. In the following performances, he has been replaced by Korean tenor Seok Jong Baek.