Adelaide Oval to host exclusive performances of Franco Zeffirelli’s Aida in 2026  

The late Franco Zeffirelli's arena production of Verdi’s Egyptian-set opera Aida will be performed in Adelaide.
Franco Zeffirelli’s 'Aida' at Arena di Verona. The photograph hints at the scale of the arena production's opulent set, and depicts cast and chorus members arrayed beneath huge temple-like Egyptian statues and a pyramid.

In a major cultural coup, the late Franco Zeffirelli’s opulent outdoor production of Verdi’s Aida will be staged exclusively at Adelaide Oval for two performances only on 5-6 February 2026.

First staged at Verona’s 2000 year old coliseum the Arena di Verona in 2002, the monumental operatic spectacle Aida – staged outside Italy for the first time – is being produced locally by TEG Live and Condon Presents in partnership with Fondazione Arena di Verona.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts