Aida
JULY 22, 26 & 29, 2022 | 7:30 P.M.
JULY 31, 2022 | 3:00 P.M.
MUSIC HALL
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
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The Story
Ancient Egypt, during the reign of the pharaohs. The high priest Ramfis tells the warrior Radamès that Ethiopia is preparing another attack against Egypt. Radamès hopes to command the Egyptian army. He is in love with Aida, an enslaved Ethiopian woman, and he believes that victory would enable them to marry. But Princess Amneris loves Radamès, and she senses his feelings for Aida. The king names Radamès to lead the army. Left alone, Aida is torn between her love for Radamès and loyalty to her country, where her father, Amonasro, is king. In the temple, the priests consecrate Radamès, and Ramfis orders him to protect the homeland.
Ethiopia has been defeated, and Amneris awaits Radamès’s return. When Aida approaches, Amneris attempts to learn her feelings. Aida’s reactions leave no doubt that she loves Radamès. Amneris, certain she will be victorious, leaves for the triumphal procession.
The king and Amneris crown Radamès with a victor’s wreath. Captured Ethiopians are led in. Among them is Amonasro, who signals his daughter not to reveal his identity. Radamès asks for the prisoners to be freed. The king grants his request but keeps Amonasro in custody. The king declares that Radamès will have Amneris’s hand in marriage.
On the eve of the wedding, Ramfis and Amneris enter a temple on the banks of the Nile to pray. Aida, who is waiting for Radamès, is lost in thoughts of her homeland. Amonasro appears and coerces Aida to find out the Egyptian army’s plans from Radamès. Amonasro hides as Radamès arrives and assures Aida of his love. Aida asks him about his army’s plans, and just as he reveals the secret, Amonasro emerges. When he realizes Amonasro’s identity, Radamès is horrified by what he has done. Ramfis and Amneris step out of the temple. Amonasro and Aida are able to escape, but Radamès surrenders.
Radamès awaits trial. Amneris offers to save him if he renounces Aida, but he refuses. When he is brought before the priests, he is condemned to be buried alive. Amneris begs for mercy, but the judges are unwavering.
Aida has hidden in the vault to share Radamès’s fate. They express their love for the last time while Amneris prays in the temple above.
–Courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera
In Performance
Verdi’s innate sense of drama and the exactitude with which he achieved it can be thought of as a range of orchestral colors that tell stories extending far beyond the words. This can be found in huge set pieces—such as the Triumphal March in the second act. But pay attention to small details most people overlook. Listen to the urgency and mounting alarm in Act I as the Messenger tells of the Ethiopian invasion of Egyptian soil. Or, in the first scene of Act II, how Amneris deceives Aida by telling her Radamès is dead in a way that both princesses (the latter enslaved) reveal their true feelings to each other and to us. Notice, in the first music of Act III, how Verdi creates a sense of the stirrings of dawn along the Nile. In the last act, before the sensational Judgment Scene and beautiful finale, there is the thrilling argument between Radamès and Amneris that sets up all that follows.
—Fred Plotkin
The performance will last approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.
There will be two intermissions.