Aida is a 1953

1953 in film

The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...

 Italian film

Cinema of Italy

The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...

 version of the opera Aida

Aida

Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

by Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

. It was directed by Clemente Fracassi

Clemente Fracassi

Clemente Fracassi was an Italian film producer, director and screenwriter. His career spanned from 1939 to 1967.-Selected filmography:* To Live in Peace * Senza pietà...

 and produced by Gregor Rabinovitch and Federico Teti. The screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 was adapted by Fracassi, Carlo Castelli, Anna Gobbi and Giorgio Salviucci from the libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Antonio Ghislanzoni

Antonio Ghislanzoni was an Italian journalist, poet, and novelist who wrote librettos for Verdi, among other composers, of which the best known are Aida and the revised version of La forza del destino....

. The cinematography was by Piero Portalupi, the production design by Flavio Mogherini and the costume design by Maria De Matteis. The Italian State Radio Orchestra was conducted by Giuseppe Morelli, the ballet was choreographed by Margherita Wallmann.

The film was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival

1987 Cannes Film Festival

- Jury :*Yves Montand*Danièle Heymann*Elem Klimov*Gérald Calderon*Jeremy Thomas*Jerzy Skolimowski*Nicola Piovani*Norman Mailer*Theo Angelopoulos-Feature film competition:...

.

Cast

The film stars Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...

 (Aida), Lois Maxwell

Lois Maxwell

Lois Maxwell was a Canadian actress.Maxwell began her film career in the late 1940s, and won a Golden Globe Award for the New Actress of the Year for her performance in That Hagen Girl...

 (Amneris), Luciano Della Marra (Radamès), Afro Poli

Afro Poli

Afro Poli was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.-Life and career:...

 (Amonasro) and Antonio Cassinelli (Ramfis). The singing voices were provided by Renata Tebaldi

Renata Tebaldi

Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...

 (Aida), Ebe Stignani

Ebe Stignani

Ebe Stignani was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years.-Career:...

 (Amneris), Giuseppe Campora

Giuseppe Campora

Giuseppe Campora , was an Italian operatic tenor. Campora was one of the greatest Puccinian tenors of his generation...

 (Radamès), Gino Bechi

Gino Bechi

Gino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...

 (Amonasro) and Giulio Neri

Giulio Neri

Giulio Neri was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Neri studied first in Florence with Ferraresi, and completed his studies in Rome. He made his stage debut in 1935, at the Teatro delle Quattro Fontane in Rome, where he sang mostly comprimario roles...

 (Ramfis). Yvette Chauviré

Yvette Chauviré

Yvette Chauviré is a French prima ballerina who was born in Paris. Her dancing career was from 1937 to 1972. She celebrated her 90th birthday in 2007. She was the étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, and later its director. She is also the holder of the Légion d'Honneur...

 and Léonide Massine are the dancers in the ballet with the Rome Opera Ballet.

Production notes

Renata Tebaldi was originally cast to play Aida, but she decided not to appear in the film. Gina Lollobrigida

Gina Lollobrigida

Gina Lollobrigida is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptress. She was one of the most popular European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was also an iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. Today, she remains an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the...

was also considered for the role, before Sophia Loren was cast. This was Loren's first leading role. Sophia Loren's performance was met with critical acclaim for her role as Aida.