British set and costume designer Tatyana van Walsum, and head of the costume workshops at the Salzburg Festival, Jan Meier, collaborated with Swarovski on several ornate jewelry pieces for center stage roles and the supporting chorus. Inspired by contrasts, both within tonal shades and texture, van Walsum created designs in muted colors and matte and glossy materials that employed negative space as a platform for Swarovski’s crystals and pearls to shine.

Before concepting began, van Walsum visited the Swarovski headquarters, commenting: “It gave me lots of new ideas and an opportunity to develop them. It was particularly fascinating to see the huge variety of materials that Swarovski has on offer and how differently and wonderfully they all work together.”

World-renowned soprano Anna Netrebko plays the role of Aida, donning a moon-inspired necklace in shades of gray and silver along with a finely textured bracelet displaying finite crystals, also worn by the chorus of 24 slave girls. Representing the sun in all its glory is Amneris in an elegant necklace of golden crystals and pearls, and an opulent gilded hairpiece.

The four-act opera, which tells a tale of forbidden love in ancient Egypt, is conducted by Riccardo Muti with direction by Shirin Neshat. Playing throughout Salzburg Festival’s 2017 season from July 21^st – August 30^th, the production will adhere to Swarovski’s 120-year history of engagement within culture, the arts and creativity, holding true to founder Daniel Swarovski’s brand vision.

Helga Rabl-Stadler, Salzburg Festival President, stated: “The Salzburg Festival and Swarovski can rightly call themselves global players. These two brands are ambassadors for Austrian quality with an international reach. I am particularly delighted that this partnership is continuing for the fifth time in 2017. Swarovski’s belief in engendering a spirit of innovation is also at the heart of the Salzburg Festival and is reflected in the work of its new intendant, Markus Hinterhäuser.”