Opera Aida Program Notes Sheet Music and Recordings

Program Notes & Analysis

A Grand Opera for a New World

When the Khedive of Egypt, Isma'il Pasha, asked Giuseppe Verdi to compose a grand opera for the opening of his new, opulent Cairo Opera House, Verdi initially refused. He was in his late 50s, the undisputed, god-like king of Italian opera, and he was in a state of semi-retirement, disgusted with the frivolity of the theater world. But the Khedive was persistent. He offered Verdi an astronomical, un-refusable fee (150,000 francs) and, more importantly, a scenario by the famed Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. This was not just another opera. This was a national commission of geopolitical significance, meant to show the world that Egypt was a modern, cosmopolitan nation. Verdi accepted the challenge. He was not just going to write an opera; he was going to create a new world, an Ancient Egypt of his own imagination, complete with new, specially-invented trumpets for his Triumphal March.

The Pinnacle of French Grand Opéra... Perfected by an Italian

Aida is the pinnacle of French Grand Opéra, a genre Verdi had mastered (and argued with) in Paris with his opera Don Carlos. The librettist, Ghislanzoni, was working from a French scenario, and the opera has all the hallmarks of the genre, perfected by composers like Giacomo Meyerbeer:

1. A massive, 5-act (later 4) historical/political plot.

2. Huge, opposing choruses (the Egyptians and the Ethiopian prisoners).

3. Grand, spectacular set-pieces (the Triumphal March of Act II).

4. A mandatory ballet (the Temple dance and the Triumphal ballet). But Verdi was not Meyerbeer. He was not interested in spectacle for spectacle's sake. He used this colossal, public framework as a pressure cooker for an intimate, claustrophobic, psychological tragedy. The genius of Aida is the war between the public and the private. The Triumphal March is not just a celebration; it is the moment of Aida's greatest public humiliation, as she sees her father dragged in as a slave.

A Verismo Triangle of Jealousy and Power

At its heart, Aida is not about war; it is about a toxic love triangle. In this, it is a direct precursor to the raw, psychological realism of Puccini’s Tosca. The three central figures are all trapped:

• Radamès (Tenor): He is the hero torn by the opera's central conflict: love vs. duty. His opening aria, Celeste Aida (Heavenly Aida), is a killer, a declaration of love and ambition sung in the first five minutes of the opera. His tragedy is that he tries to have both his country and his love, and in doing so, loses both.

• Amneris (Mezzo-soprano): She is the true engine of the plot, one of opera's greatest anti-heroines. She is not a simple villain; she is a proud, passionate, and deeply insecure woman. Her love for Radamès is obsessive and possessive. Her Act II duet with Aida, where she lies that Radamès is dead just to see Aida's reaction, is a masterpiece of psychological torture. Her final Judgment Scene in Act IV, where she begs the priests for mercy for the man she has just condemned, is one of the most powerful scenes ever written for a mezzo-soprano.

• Aida (Soprano): She is the slave-princess, the opera's true victim. Her conflict is the most terrible: her love for Radamès is a betrayal of her father and her country. Her great aria, Ritorna vincitor! (Return victorious!), is a masterpiece of schizophrenic agony, as she prays for her lover's victory, which means her family's destruction.

An Exotic Score: The Sound of the Nile

Verdi was a master of orchestration, and in Aida, he created a new, luminous, and exotic sound. He wasn't just using cymbals and gongs for a cheap effect. He used the orchestra to paint an atmosphere. The famous Nile Scene in Act III opens with one of the first true examples of musical Impressionism. A solo flute, harps, and shimmering, high strings create a humid, moonlit, and insect-buzzing riverbank. It is against this magical, hypnotic backdrop that Aida sings her heartbreaking aria of nostalgia, O patria mia (Oh, my native land). This scene, of course, is where the opera's tragedy is sealed, as Aida's father, Amonasro, convinces her to commit treason by tricking Radamès into revealing his army's battle plan.

The Final Tomb: A Liebestod of Transcendent Peace

The opera's finale is one of the most perfect, and claustrophobic, endings in opera. Radamès has been condemned as a traitor by the priests (a brutal, offstage Judgment Scene) and is sealed alive in a tomb. As he prepares to die, he discovers Aida has hidden herself in the tomb to die with him. Verdi creates a stunning dramatic split-screen. In the darkness of the tomb below, Aida and Radamès sing their final, ethereal, and transcendent love-death duet, O terra, addio (Farewell, O Earth). Their music is high, shimmering, and peaceful, as if their souls are already leaving their bodies. But above them, in the temple, we see the heartbroken Amneris, dressed in mourning, who prays over the stone sealing the tomb. Her music, and the chanting of the priests, is dark, heavy, and earthbound. It is a sublime, heartbreaking, and brilliant fusion of the sacred and the profane, a final, perfect masterpiece from Italy's greatest master.

The Story of the Opera

Act I

Scene 1: The Royal Palace at Memphis. Ramfis, the High Priest, tells the young warrior Radamès that the Ethiopians are threatening to invade, and that the goddess Isis has chosen a new commander for Egypt's army. Radamès, left alone, dreams that he is that commander. He sings the aria Celeste Aida, vowing to win victory and lay his laurels at the feet of the woman he secretly loves: Aida, an Ethiopian slave. Amneris, the Egyptian Princess, enters. She is in love with Radamès, but she is fiercely jealous, suspecting he has a rival. Her suspicions are confirmed when Aida enters and Amneris sees the look that passes between her and Radamès. The King of Egypt enters with his court. A messenger arrives, confirming the Ethiopian invasion, which is being led by their warrior-king, Amonasro. The King declares war and, to great acclaim, names Radamès the commander. The scene ends with a grand, patriotic chorus. Left alone, Aida is in despair. In her great aria, Ritorna vincitor!, she is torn: she wants Radamès to be victorious, but his victory means the defeat and death of her father (Amonasro) and her brothers.

Scene 2: The Temple of Vulcan. A solemn, religious ceremony. Priests and priestesses chant as Radamès is consecrated for battle. Ramfis, the High Priest, presents him with a sacred sword.

Act II

Scene 1: Amneris's chambers. Amneris is being prepared by her slaves for the victory celebration. She is still consumed by jealousy. She decides to test Aida. She has Aida brought in and, with false kindness, she casually mentions that Radamès has been killed in the battle. Aida collapses in grief, revealing her love. Amneris, in a fury, confesses her lie and reveals the truth: Radamès is alive! She, a Princess, is Aida's rival. Aida, in a moment of defiance, almost reveals her own royal rank, but catches herself and begs for mercy.

Scene 2: The Triumphal March. The grand climax of the opera. Before the gates of Thebes, the entire kingdom welcomes the victorious Egyptian army. This is the famous Triumphal March and Ballet. Radamès enters in glory. The King greets him and promises him any reward he wishes, including the hand of Amneris. The Ethiopian prisoners are paraded in. Aida recognizes one of them: her father, Amonasro, King of Ethiopia. He whispers to her not to reveal his rank, and then publicly pleads for the prisoners' lives. Radamès, as his reward, asks the King to free the prisoners. The King agrees (though he keeps Aida and Amonasro as hostages) and then publicly names Radamès his successor and the future husband of Amneris.

Act III

The Banks of the Nile. At night, Amneris enters a temple by the Nile river to pray before her wedding. Aida arrives for a secret rendezvous with Radamès, singing her aria of despair and nostalgia, O patria mia. Before Radamès arrives, her father, Amonasro, appears. He confronts her, demanding that she betray her lover. He tells her she must ask Radamès which path his army will take in the next battle. Aida is horrified, but her father curses her. Broken, she agrees. He hides. Radamès arrives, and Aida convinces him to flee with her. As they are about to leave, she asks, But which path will we take to avoid your army? Radamès replies, The pass of Napata. At that moment, Amonasro leaps out, revealing his identity. Radamès is horrified: he has just committed treason. Amneris and the High Priest, Ramfis, emerge from the temple. Amonasro tries to stab Amneris, but Radamès stops him. Radamès tells Aida and Amonasro to flee as he surrenders himself to the High Priest.

Act IV

Scene 1: The Judgment. Amneris, consumed by guilt and love, has Radamès brought to her. She begs him to renounce Aida and defend himself; she will save him. He refuses. He would rather die. Amneris, in a fury, sends him to his trial. The trial takes place offstage. We see only Amneris, listening in agony. We hear Ramfis and the priests accuse him three times: He is silent. They condemn him to be buried alive. Amneris screams, cursing the priests for their cruelty.

Scene 2: The Tomb. Radamès is in the dark tomb. He hears a sound. It is Aida, who has secretly hidden herself in the tomb to die with him. As they run out of air, they sing their final, transcendent duet, O terra, addio (Farewell, O Earth), dreaming of their love in heaven. Above, in the temple, Amneris, heartbroken, kneels on the stone sealing the tomb, praying for Radamès's soul.