Opera Flashcards
Aida (composer, premiere, setting, synopsis)
Giuseppe Verdi, premiered in 1871
Set in Old Kingdom Egypt (2700-2200 BC)
Aida is a Ethiopian princess captured and enslaved by the Egyptians
Radamés is an Egyptian military commander who falls for Aida, but must keep it secret because of his position and ambitions.
(Ramfis, the Egyptian high priest, drives much of the exposition)
Amneris is the daughter of the Egyptian king, and is in love with Radamés, and suspects Aida.
Amneris tricks Aida into confessing her love by claiming that Ramadés was killed in battle.
Aida’s father, Amonasro, king of Ethiopia, is captured, but conceals his identity too, recruiting Aida into the deception, claiming that he was killed in battle.
Aida’s captors are unaware of her true identity and station; her father had invaded Egypt to rescue her.
In a dramatic third act, Radamès, betrothed to Amneris, decides to run away with Aida. Aida, meanwhile, has been recruited by her father to extract military secrets from Radamès, which torments her, but she agrees. The betrayal is discovered, and Radamès helps Aida and Amanasro flee, and surrenders himself as traitor.
In the tragic fourth act, Radamès refuses Amneris’ attempts to save him and remains loyal to his love for Aida. He is sentenced to death, and entombed alive. Aida, however, has hidden herself in his tomb, and she dies in his arms.
