Verdi: Aida
“If you were to narrow down the greatest operacomposers in music history to just two, they would be Verdi and Wagner, andamong Verdi’s operas, Aida standssupreme.” This is how the renowned American speaker and critic Seth Godincommented on both the composer and one of the world’s top ten operas.
Opera is a performance art thatintegrates music, drama, dance, and stage design. Its origins can be tracedback to the late 16th century, with the first recognized opera being Dafne in 1600. Over the followingcenturies, opera developed and spread across Italy, France, and Germany,evolving into various forms and styles within different cultural contexts andproducing countless composers and singers. The Italian tradition, in particular,is celebrated for its lyrical beauty, with Giuseppe Verdi as its most renownedrepresentative.
Born in 1813 in a small tavern-owningfamily in northern Italy, Verdi was deeply influenced by the ItalianRenaissance and Romanticism. He devoted his life to opera, skillfully combiningmusic and literature, and composed 26 operas. Among them, Aida, written in 1871 during his mature creative period, representsthe pinnacle of his artistry. Upon its premiere, it was embraced by operalovers worldwide and performed extensively. At New York’s Metropolitan Operaalone, it has been staged over 1,100 times, making it one of the ten mostfamous operas in the world.
Aida is a fictional tragic love story set during the era of the ancientEgyptian pharaohs, against the backdrop of the war between Egypt and Ethiopia.It tells of the passionate love between Radamès, the Egyptian army commander,and Aida, the Ethiopian princess. Their love is ultimately doomed by war andreligion, serving as a metaphor for the struggle for national independence andfreedom. Commissioned by the Egyptian governor to commemorate the reopening ofthe Suez Canal, the opera dramatizes the Egyptian army’s triumph and glorywhile, across a two-and-a-half-hour grand score, delicately portraying thesuffering and struggle inflicted on the people by war, religion, and monarchy.
Verdi followed the governor’s advice instage design to authentically recreate “ancient Egypt.” He incorporatedextensive Egyptian elements into sets, costumes, and props, added Egyptianhorns and tambourines to the orchestra, and drew inspiration from Egyptianmythology and religious rituals. By fusing ancient Egyptian culture and historyinto the production, he endowed the work with a mysterious exoticism anddramatic tension. A 120-member orchestra and 60-person chorus vividly depictgrandeur and splendor, immersing the audience in the glory of ancient Egypt.
Musically, Aida achieves a high level of unity with the narrative, using musicand singing to propel the story. For example, in scenes of the army’striumphant return, brass and percussion enhance the power and solemnity of themusic; in emotional moments, strings and woodwinds create delicate portrayalsof the characters’ inner feelings; in the tomb burial scene, bassoons andclarinets descend slowly in the lower register to symbolize the fading of lifeand sorrow, culminating in string harmonics at the softest dynamics to evokethe transcendence of the soul.
By seamlessly integrating history, war,religion, emotion, music, literature, and drama, Aida remains one of the world’s most magnificent operas andcontinues to hold profound contemporary significance. Each grand performanceinvites audiences to reflect on history, contemplate peace, and pursue enduringfreedom.