The Bulgarian opera-company Opera Verdi Europa returns at 8 p.m. Saturday to Eisenhower Auditorium with a performance of the original Aida opera by Giuseppe Verdi.

The company -- which brought La Boheme to campus last year -- brings Aida and its cast of almost 200 to State College in the middle of an American tour after having performed the opera at some of the premiere stages in Europe.

"The production of Aida is the one our company presented the most of all other productions and the production that has brought our biggest success around the most important European stages -- in Madrid, Valencia, Salzburg, Holland, France, Zurich, etc.," said Elitsa Pavlova, Opera Verdi Europa administrative manager.

The famous opera is known as a tragic love story between star-crossed lovers -- Aida and Radamès -- set with the backdrop of an ancient battle between Egypt and Ethiopia.

But Aida, the opera, is not to be confused with the Elton John and Tim Rice musical that runs on Broadway, said Bruce Trinkley, a music professor.

"The original Aida has not much in common with what you see on Broadway, it's much, much better than what you would see in that production," Trinkley said. "It's nice that it was done on Broadway because I would hope that it would make more people go and see the original."

Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director for the Centre for Performing Arts, said she hopes the common themes of romance, love and war will help to draw in students.

"A lot of students may think that operas are hard to relate to; but really, if you are a romantic [in any sense] then you're going to love it," Sullivan said. "This opera is very moving for everyone, and the company has some of the best opera voices that we have ever had."

In fact, according to Susan Boardman, Penn State's Opera Theatre director, successful Verdi singers are rare and far between, as singing the composer's operas requires not only very mature singers, but those with extreme vocal range and stamina.

Boardman has never seen the show and is excited for the event on Saturday.

"It's one of the great grand operas. It's a very hard opera to see because it's a major opera that requires [not only] Verdi-singers but usually animals and a big theater," Boardman said. "It's pretty wild that we are getting it at all."

Though Aida is set in Africa and will be sung in Italian, the company is using a contemporary technique to make it easier for the audience to understand the story.

"Back in the old days you had to read a synopsis before each scene," Trinkly said. "[Now] 'supertitles', a wonderful modern innovation in opera allows the audience to experience and understand the story as it's being [performed]."

A 'supertitle' is a translation that is projected onto a screen above the stage throughout the show, very similar to what subtitles would be in a movie, Trinkly said.

Thus far, the reactions of the American crowd to the company's performance of Aida have been very positive, Pavlova said.

"The American audience has been very enthusiastic and warm to us," she said. "We will do our best efforts to make the evening unforgettable for all spectators at Penn State University."