“This opera is very exotic,” Giorgio Lalov, artistic director of Teatro Lirico D’Europa, says of “Aida,” which his internationally-renowned opera company performs at 7 p.m. Feb. 13, State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton.

“Aida” is a full-scale opera production with a live orchestra. The Egyptian costumes and sets are luxurious and spectacular.

“The scenery, the costumes, and the sounds of the orchestra ... Nothing replaces live entertainment, to see [the performers] right in front of you. It’s a different feeling, a different emotion,” says Lalov in a phone interview from his home in Baltimore.

The performance is in Italian with English subtitles.

“Aida” is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. It was commissioned by and first performed Dec. 24, 1871, in Khedivial Opera House, Cairo.

“Aida,” set in Egypt, is the exotic tale of Aida, an enslaved Ethiopian princess. Egypt and Ethiopia are at war. Aida was captured and made a personal slave to Amneris, the daughter of Egypt’s king. No one knows Aida’s father is Ethiopia’s king.

Aida lies about her identity and falls in love with an Egyptian general, Radames. Radames loves Aida, but he is adored by the Egyptian King’s daughter, Amneris. The tragic love triangle is rich with emotion and song, most famously, “The Triumphal March” in Act II.

The work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world. At New York’s Metropolitan Opera alone, “Aida” has been performed more than 1,100 times since 1886. The opera’s story, but not its music, was used as the basis for a 1998 musical of the same name written by Elton John and Tim Rice.

Teatro Lirico D’Europa was founded in 1988 by Lalov, a Bulgarian-born opera singer who studied in Milan and became its artistic director, and the late Yves Josse, a ballet divo.

The opera company offers an impressive array of lavish productions and has received thousands of stellar reviews. The company began touring the United States in 2000 and has presented more than 700 performances at 120 venues in the nation.

Lalov is incredibly proud of the success of the company: “We’ve done over 4,000 shows all over the world.”

The tour that stops at the State Theatre began in Florida on Jan. 19 and continues through February.

Lalov left Bulgaria during the time of Communism “without a penny in my pocket.” He was accepted at the International School for Young Opera Singers at La Scala, Milan, Italy, where he made his debut at age 25.

In 1986, while on tour with an opera company in France, Lalov met Josse, his future business partner. Lalov had much to offer: he spoke several languages, could create sets, design costumes and form orchestras.

“Then I married an American girl from Baltimore,” Lalov says.

In addition to performing “Aida” this month, the Teatro Lirico D’Europa Winter 2016 tour includes Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” and “Tosca,” Bizet’s “Carmen” and Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”

The dizzying schedules are not new to Lalov. “I’ve slowed down,” he jokes. “My best was 11 productions in three months.”

Of Teatro Lirico D’Europa’s international cast, Lalov says, “We assemble these incredible people. We have a soprano from Puerto Rico, a mezzo-soprano from the Ukraine, the tenor is from Korea, the baritone from Bulgaria, and so on.”

The company is known for its wonderful chemistry between performers. “In other companies, you have lots of intrigue in the theater. But when we’re on tour, we live like a family. There are no problems between [us].

“Traveling and performing can be hard, but it’s also fun because you’re visiting so many different places ... places around the world that people pay to go to.”

Lalov attributes the company’s longevity to savvy economics. “Opera is like any other business. Our production company, the booking agency and the opera company all work together.”

Lalov says Teatro Lirico D’Europa saves money by not spending foolishly. “We don’t need a staff of hundreds. Other opera companies have collapsed, not because there is no money, but because they overspent. I have a very small group of people that know exactly what to do. And that’s the secret.

“When people mention my name, they know exactly what they’re going to get: traditional sets, costumes and voices, an honest approach to what the composer had in mind.”

Tickets: State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton St., Easton; statetheatre.org, 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132