Aida

In 1953, Clemente Fracassi directed a stunning adaptation of Giuseppe Verdi’s formidable opera Aida in which he converted Antonio Ghislanzoni’s four-act libretto into a compact one-and-half-hour cinematic gem. Sofia Loren, then a young actress at the start of her career, was cast in the lead role, and was highly praised for her performance as Aida, an Ethiopian servant who forces the Egyptian supreme commander to choose between love and loyalty to his country. Legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi performs the role of Aida, alongside a host of leading Italian opera singers of the time. The set design, choreography, costumes, and magnificent cinematography are all treated with the respect they deserve in this restored copy, produced on the initiative of Bologna Film Archive.