History Theatre / AidaVerdi

While attempting to meet Radames at a temple before the wedding proceeds, Aida is blackmailed by her father to get Radames to reveal where the Egyptian army will be passing through on its way to defeat the rebelling Ethiopians. Aida convinces Radames to run away with her and he tells her the secret of the army's route. Aida's father [[WhatAnIdiot chooses that moment to spring out of the bushes, announce that that's where they'll attack the Egyptians and reveal to Radames exactly who he is]]. Horrified, Radames refuses the chance to rule Nubia with Aida and surrenders to Amneris and the priests, who catch him as Aida and her father flee. He is condemned to be BuriedAlive, but Aida sneaks into his tomb before it gets sealed, since she [[TearJerker cannot choose between her love and her homeland]]. The curtain falls as she dies in Radames' arms.

''Aida'' was commissioned by Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt, to celebrate the opening of the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo (now the Cairo Opera House). However, the premiere ended up delayed due to the Siege of Paris during the ongoing UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar, as the scenery and costumes were stuck in the French capital. Instead, Verdi's ''Theater/{{Rigoletto}}'' was performed on November 1st, 1869. ''Aida'' would have its premiere on December 24th, 1871, and since then, it has become one of the most popular operas around the world.

''Aida'' is a four-act opera by Music/{{Giuseppe Verdi}}, with a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House (now the Cairo Opera House), it's become a staple of the operatic canon and receives performances every year around the world.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Amneris, ''big time''. In Act IV, when Aida goes missing, Radames even accuses Amneris of pulling a MurderTheHypotenuse.

* TenorBoy: Radames has shades of this, but he is sung by a dramatic tenor, whose voice is typically not at all "boyish."

** ''My Darlin' Aida'', an unsuccessful 1952 [[TheMusical Broadway musical]], used Verdi's original music but rewrote the libretto to take place in Memphis, Tennessee during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, where Radames becomes a Confederate officer trying to put down a slave rebellion led by Aida's father.

* SettingUpdate: Quite a few modern productions update the setting from Ancient Egypt to unspecified war-torn, vaguely Middle Eastern countries in the 20th or 21st centuries.

** Yet, even those settings [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.01.01.jpg pale]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.01.02.cast.jpg in]][[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.02.01.jpg comparison]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.02.03.jpg to]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.03.jpg those]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.04.01.jpg from]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.04.02.jpg the early 1900's]]!

Radames, an officer in the Egyptian army, wants to become the commander of the invasion of Nubia, so that he may request to marry his beloved Aida, a slave of the pharaoh's daughter Amneris. He doesn't know that Amneris is in love with him, or that Aida is the daughter of the Nubian king. Suspecting something between them, Amneris deceives Aida into revealing her love for Radames by claiming he died in the campaign against Nubia. Radames gets his wish and defeats Nubia, bringing in many hostages, including Aida's father. Seeing Aida's anguish, Radames uses up his one wish from the pharaoh to free the Nubian slaves instead of asking for Aida's hand, and the pharaoh publicly engages him to Amneris.

While attempting to meet Radames at a temple before the wedding proceeds, Aida is blackmailed by her father to get Radames to reveal where the Egyptian army will be passing through on its way to defeat the rebelling Nubians. Aida convinces Radames to run away with her and he tells her the secret of the army's route. Aida's father [[WhatAnIdiot chooses that moment to spring out of the bushes, announce that that's where they'll attack the Egyptians and reveal to Radames exactly who he is]]. Horrified, Radames refuses the chance to rule Nubia with Aida and surrenders to Amneris and the priests, who catch him as Aida and her father flee. He is condemned to be BuriedAlive, but Aida sneaks into his tomb before it gets sealed, since she [[TearJerker cannot choose between her love and her homeland]]. The curtain falls as she dies in Radames' arms.

* AncientAfrica: Aida is a princess from the Kingdom of Nubia (modern-day Ethiopia), which is at war with Ancient Egypt.

* AncientEgypt: The main setting, of course.

** Yet, even those settings [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.01.01.jpg pale]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.01.02.cast.jpg in]][[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.02.01.jpg comparison]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.02.03.jpg to]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.03.jpg those]] [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.04.01.jpg from]]
[[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Aida1908.04.02.jpg the early 1900's]]!

Not to be confused with Elton John and Tim Rice's Broadway [[Theatre/AidaJohnRice musical of the same name]].

* Myth/{{EgyptianMythology}}: The Egyptian gods are often mentioned throughout the opera.

* EgyptianMythology: The Egyptian gods are often mentioned throughout the opera.

* EvilSoundsDeep: The morally ambiguous Amonasro is a baritone, and SinisterMinister Ramphis is a bass.

* SinisterMinister: Ramphis, a priest with political power who accuses Radames of treason and has him BuriedAlive.

This is Verdi's Aida, not to be confused with Elton John and Tim Rice's Broadway [[Theatre/AidaJohnRice musical of the same name]].

This is Verdi's Aida, not to be confused with Elton John and Tim Rice's Broadway musical of the same name.

* TenorBoy: Radames has shades of this, but he is sung by a dramatic tenor, whose voice is typically not at all "boyish."

* SinisterMinister: Ramphis, a priest with political power who accuses Radames of treason as has him BuriedAlive.

* CrowdSong: "Gloria all'Egitto"

* AbusiveParents: Amonasro's method of persuading Aida to get Radames to betray his strategy, namely savagely ranting that Ethiopia would otherwise die if Aida does not do so, comes across as emotional abuse.
* AltoVillainess: Amneris is usually sung by a mezzo-soprano or a contralto.
* ArrangedMarriage: Amneris and Radames, to the former's delight.
* BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama: While the racial difference isn't mentioned often, it's [[ShowDontTell implied]] that this is the major reason why Aida and Radames' relationship is forbidden.
* BuriedAlive: Radames and Aida's fate.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Amneris, ''big time''. In Act IV, when Aida goes missing, Radames even accuses Amneris of pulling a MurderTheHypotenuse.
* CrowdSong: "Gloria all'Egitto"
* EvilSoundsDeep: The morally ambiguous Amonasro is a baritone, and SinisterMinister Ramphis is a bass.
* FinalLoveDuet: "O terra addio"
* IWantSong: "Celeste Aida" is basically Radames' love song for Aida.
* LoveAcrossBattlelines: Radames and Aida, obviously.
* LoveTriangle: Aida, Radames and Amneris.
* RoyalBlood: Aida, which she manages to keep a secret while she is in captivity under Amneris.
* ScaryBlackMan: Amonasro
* SinisterMinister: Ramphis, a priest with political power who accuses Radames of treason as has him BuriedAlive.
* StarCrossedLovers: Aida and Radames, of course.
* TenorBoy: Radames has shades of this, but he is sung by a dramatic tenor, whose voice is typically not at all "boyish."