Aida: Homelands
Explore the World Behind Aida
Step beyond the opera house and into the music, culture, food, and history of Ethiopia at Aida: Homelands;
an immersive evening designed to deepen your connection to Verdi’s iconic opera and the woman at its heart.
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: TolHouse (1447 N. Summit St., Toledo, OH)
Tickets: $75
At the heart of Aida is an Ethiopian princess, captured and enslaved in Egypt, who finds herself caught between two worlds: the man she loves and the homeland and people to whom she belongs. Before the curtain rises, Aida: Homelands invites us to spend an evening exploring that part of her story; and the culture, music, food, and history of Ethiopia.
Set throughout the beautiful and distinctive spaces of TolHouse, this special evening will feature traditional Azmari music, an Ethiopian buffet from Taste of Ethiopia in Detroit, and a presentation by musicologist Dr. Ryan Ebright. Through music, food, and scholarship, Dr. Ebright will explore Aida, Ethiopia’s role in the opera, and some of the historical and cultural context surrounding Verdi’s iconic work.
Following the success of last season’s Top Shelf, Toledo Opera’s Audience Development Committee is delighted to once again bring our community together for an evening that invites us to experience opera from a different perspective. With Aida, exploring the Ethiopian heritage of its central character felt like a particularly meaningful place to begin.
Whether you’re discovering Aida for the first time or have loved the opera for years, we hope Aida: Homelands offers an opportunity to listen, learn, gather, and connect. Opera has a remarkable way of bringing together music, history, culture, and human stories; and sometimes, looking at a familiar work through a new lens can reveal a connection we hadn’t seen before.