It’s been 14 years since director Franco Zeffirelli worked at the opera house, and the buzz was considerable. “Tickets reserved for sale online for all 11 showings of Aida sold out in a record two hours. One of the season’s most-anticipated cultural events, Aida attracted an audience of leading political, business and cultural figures — among them Italian Premier Romano Prodi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as his guest.”