Set in Egypt, Aïda is about a love triangle that entangles purity, lust and ultimately betrayal between an Egyptian captain, his king's daughter and her slave, Aida. Aida experiences conflict between her father and her lover who also enslaves her country.
1. Talk only with audio-visual presentation
2. Talk with 1 aria performed by the speaker
3. Virtual Talk
SUMMARY
Aïda is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIA
SETTING
As Sophia from the Golden Girls says “picture it” Egypt. Since the libretto doesn't give a specific setting, the "Old Kingdom" is interpretated as Ancient Egypt or Egypt during Verdi's time in most productions.
ACT 1: Scene 1: A hall in the King's palace; through the rear gate the pyramids and temples of Memphis are visible.
Scene 2: Inside the Temple of Ptah
ACT 2: Scene 1: The chamber of Amneris
Scene 2: The grand gate of the city of Thebes
ACT 3: On the banks of the Nile, near the Temple of Isis
ACT 4: Scene 1: A hall in the Temple of Justice. To one side is the door leading to Radamès' prison cell
Scene 2: The lower portion of the stage shows the vault in the Temple of Ptah; the upper portion represents the temple itself
LEGENDARY CAST- WHO YOU WILL HEAR
Due to time constraint, this opera talk features a partial cast. If you loved the program, purchase from our affiliates or borrow the above DVD’s from your local library to see the full cast.
TANISHA’S PICKS
This opera talk features Tanisha’s favorite casts from these recordings. Click the link to purchase them for your own collection.
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