In Lecce, one of the most beautiful cities of southern Italy, people are waiting for the opening night of “Aida”. The opera will be set in a square and staged by a company from Moscow. Patron of the event is notorious crime boss Michele Verrio, while his lover, ex-soprano Lunetta, is the show’s manager.
Lunetta belongs to an aristocratic and music-loving family. Her brother Sergio, a journalist, left the city after Verrio’s men blew his car up as a warning to stop him from carrying on an inquiry into organized crime.
Sergio’s ex-wife is Mara, and their daughter, Sabina. She is 19 and studies violin in the US. Mara is now married to Emilio: he’s more reliable and down-to-earth than Sergio and has helped Mara raise Sabina, but in order to do so, Emilio has had to engage in a “financial relationship” with Verrio.
Sabina is coming back to Lecce, and Mara and Emìlìo go to the airport to pick her up, but there they find out that Verrio’s son Giovanni has been studying with Sabina. They arrive holding hands. And pregnant.
The honest family is now destined to have a direct relationship with the criminale. Through a series of surprising and tragi-comic events, we see the family’s past, the effect of financial needs on their inner emotions, the establishment of new roles, the battle between good and evil and all the typical aspects of this part of Italian life. Among them we see how Giovanni is so very different from his father and understand that it is because he has had the opportunity to get an education. We also Sabina’s “two fathers” compete with each other to win her affection… It becomes apparent that the kids may be able to put an end to all these conflicts through their happy union.
But then in the end, the real truth, hìdden behind the performance of “Aida”, will make everybody face reality.