"...forma divina" — the tenor's opening romanza (1871)
Radamès dreams of victory and of the slave he loves, ending on a high B flat Verdi asked to be sung softly
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Opera · Italian opera
Aida
24 December 1871, Khedivial Opera House, Cairo
Giuseppe Verdi · libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni
An Ethiopian princess held as a slave in Egypt loves the general sent to fight her own people, and is loved in turn by the Pharaoh's daughter. Verdi's grandest opera sets a private triangle against processions, ballets and a triumphal march, and ends with the lovers sealed alive beneath the temple.
How to spot them
- ▸Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs: Memphis and Thebes, a captured princess, a victorious general, a jealous royal rival and a high priest
- ▸Soprano slave, mezzo princess, tenor general, baritone captive king, bass priest
- ▸The famous moment: straight ceremonial trumpets in two keys lead a victory procession across the stage
- ▸Quiz clues: commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, premiered in Cairo at Christmas 1871, a tomb scene, and the Nile
Arias & moments — listen
"Ritorna vincitor!" (1871)
The heroine echoes the crowd's cry, then realises she has just wished defeat on her own father
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Grand March and Triumphal Scene (1871)
Act II's victory procession, played on long straight trumpets built for the opera
Recording: Giuseppe Verdi, performed by the w:United States Marine Corps Band , Timothy Foley, Director · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The ceremonial trumpets of the victory procession (1871)
The valved straight trumpets, pitched in A flat and B natural, that give the march its brassy fanfare
Recording: Giuseppe Verdi, performed by the United States Marine Corps Band , Timothy Foley, Director editing (extract): Christoph Waghubinger ( Lewens · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
"La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse" — the tomb scene (1871)
The final duet, sung in a sealed vault while the priestess chants above
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
"Nume, custode e vindice" — the consecration scene (1871)
In the temple of Vulcan the priests invoke the god and hand the general a sacred sword
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Quick-fire facts
- •It was commissioned by Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, for the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, where it premiered on 24 December 1871.
- •It was not written for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, nor for the opera house's opening — both common exam traps.
- •The scenario came from the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette; Camille du Locle turned it into French prose and Antonio Ghislanzoni into Italian verse.
- •The European premiere followed at La Scala, Milan, on 8 February 1872, with Verdi conducting rehearsals.
- •The leads are Aida (soprano), Radamès (tenor), Amneris (mezzo-soprano), her father Amonasro (baritone) and the high priest Ramfis (bass).
- •The "Aida trumpets" are long straight valved trumpets made for the Triumphal Scene, in A flat and B natural.
- •Radamès is condemned for treason and entombed alive; Aida has hidden in the vault to die with him, while Amneris prays above.
- •The opera is the standard choice for outdoor spectacle, above all at the Arena di Verona, where it opened the festival in 1913.
- •Verdi wrote no full opera between Aida (1871) and Otello (1887), only the Requiem of 1874.
Drill it — 9 cards
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Sources
- Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press) — Aida
- Julian Budden — The Operas of Verdi
- Mary Jane Phillips-Matz — Verdi: A Biography