Performers are seen on stage during Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida" at New York's Metropolitan Opera on January 14, 2025. "Aida" has long epitomized opera at its most extravagant -- think sweeping sets, luxurious costumes and even real-live horses, an experience intended to transfix the audience with grandeur. A beloved version of that scale helmed the Met for more than three decades -- so staging a new production of "Aida," a tale of love, war and loyalty set in ancient Egypt, was a tall order. "Because Aida is so big and so expensive... I did definitely feel the pressure of that," director Michael Mayer told AFP in a recent interview of his production that premiered this month, adding that "I knew that there were audiences who wanted the big spectacle." (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)