Cairo finally gave the world premiere of Aida two years later. Thanks to this delay, the new opera house opened with Verdi’s Rigoletto instead. (He ended up getting stuck in Paris because of the Franco-Prussian War. After outlining the plot, archeologist Mariette went back to Paris, the opera capital of the world in thoseĭays, to oversee construction of sets and costumes at the Paris Opéra. New opera houses traditionally open with new operas, and an Egyptian subject seemed like a good idea. The creation of the Suez Canal, in the 1860s, was a victory for the French, and the Khedive of Egypt honored the canal’s construction by building a new opera house in Cairo. Although nineteenth-century Egypt was theoretically part of the Ottoman Empire, the Brits and the French had been competing to control the area since Napoleon’s men unearthed the Rosetta Stone in 1799. This most Italian of all operas began with the French in Egypt. Where, When, & Why was this opera written? He is sentenced to death Aida steals into the tomb where he is to be walled up alive, and together they asphyxiate. Furious, she has Radames tried as a traitor (although she offers him a pardon if he will love her). By chance, Amneris witnesses this espionage. On the eve of the wedding, Amonasro manipulates Aida into helping him discover Radames’s battle plans. Radames’s own king, grateful for his general’s valiant service in battle, declares that Radames shall wed his daughter Amneris. He brings many prisoners of war, among them Aida’s father Amonasro. Our story begins as Amneris begins to suspect the handsome captain loves Aida under a pretense of friendliness, Amneris manages to trick Aida into revealing her feelings for Radames.Ĭostume designs for Seattle Opera's 2018 production of Aida. But Radames is in love with Amneris’s captive attendant, Aida, who returns his love-despite the fact that Radames’s army is attacking Aida’s own people, from a rival kingdom to the south. Princess Amneris has fallen for Radames, the great warrior leading her kingdom’s armies on to battle and glory. Radames, a military leader, loves Aida despite being at war with her people.Īmneris, daughter of the king, is in love with Radames.Īmonasro is Aida’s father and-don’t tell his captors-leader of a rival kingdom. Washington National Opera, Aida, 2017 © Scott Suchman Who’s Who?Īida, once a foreign princess, now held captive by the enemy, loves Radames.
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