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- [00:28]
Pat Wright
Welcome to another edition of Opera for Everyone. I'm your host, Pat Wright, and today I am joined by the esteemed Gerald Malone. Gerald, welcome.
- [00:38]
Gerald Malone
Well, I always feel it's a welcome when I'm esteemed, so that's brilliant. I'm really looking forward to this, Pat, because it really. Aida is one of my favorite operas.
- [00:47]
Pat Wright
It's a magnificent one. And I thank you so much for suggesting that we visit this opera in all of its glory. But before we do, let me just say about Gerald. You are the opera critic for Reaction Life.
- [01:02]
Gerald Malone
Yes, indeed.
- [01:03]
Pat Wright
You are the treasurer of the Metropolitan Opera Club, so I know that means you see a lot of operas there.
- [01:09]
Gerald Malone
Well, we see plenty, including Aida, which I saw the most recent production of a couple of weeks ago.
- [01:15]
Pat Wright
Oh, that's magnificent. I haven't had a chance to see that. I may have to catch it on their platform. And also recently you have curated, set up a fascinating website that thereestisopra.com tell us a little bit about that site.
- [01:34]
Gerald Malone
Well, I did it for fun. I have quite a number of reviews published in Reaction dating back about eight years. And I thought it might be an idea to create them, put them in one place with a search engine where anybody who was interested in having my rather straightforward views about opera, I'm a fan, not a critic, could access them. Because I slightly take the same attitude that a very famous podcast that I know of, Opera for Everyone, takes, which is why I really enjoy it. Opera is for everyone. It's there to be enjoyed. And I think that I bring a rather canny Scottish eye to what can be sometimes very solemn proceedings.
- [02:17]
Pat Wright
Yes. As we might say, a little cheeky sometimes.
- [02:20]
Gerald Malone
Oh, sometimes we try to be. Yes.
- [02:23]
Pat Wright
And erudite as well, I would add, having read a number of those.
- [02:27]
Gerald Malone
Well, I think well informed. Not least because before I do my opera reviews, I usually search out an episode from the back catalogue of Opera for Everyone. And I'm afraid to say, Pat, I must say to you and your listeners, I filch mercilessly.
- [02:43]
Pat Wright
You know, we share. That's what we like to say, we share.
- [02:46]
Gerald Malone
Right, right. I remember that.
- [02:48]
Pat Wright
I mean, it's all research. You have to find the information different places. And I'm happy if some of my research makes your writing easier. That's actually very, very gratifying.
- [02:58]
Gerald Malone
Well, it's not so much research, it's tone that I'm looking for because I think that that's important. I read opera reviews from New York Times, the Washington Post, Times of London, the Daily Telegraph, and Quite often they're shortcut and written for not the general public but for a very tight knit community. And my purpose is to broaden it out a little and it pays off to make that sort of research.
- [03:27]
Pat Wright
Well, that's why we found each other. Opera for everyone.
- [03:31]
Gerald Malone
Good start.
- [03:31]
Pat Wright
Yeah. Well, Aida is one of the world's most popular operas.
- [03:38]
Gerald Malone
It is. And one of the reasons for that is that it's got what we would call in Scotland a stonking story. Conflict between love and duty to country. It goes on at a great pace, it's electrifying, it has brilliant music and it's from that era of Verdi where he was focusing on individuals, not just collective choruses, things of that sort. So you really get a good insight into things like triangular love arrangements, conflicts, all of that.
- [04:13]
Pat Wright
Yes. We should mention this is by Giuseppe Verdi and it's well into his career. He only will write two more operas after this one. It premieres in 1871 and Aida, which is set in Egypt during the time of the Pharaohs. It premieres at the Cairo Opera House, which was a relatively new opera house at the time.
- [04:33]
Gerald Malone
He wasn't expecting to write it. He was asked to write an overture which the opening of the Cairo Opera House. But he told them to shove off. He said he didn't write set piece overtures but what they then came back with was the suggestion that he do a set piece opera, a proper one, and he got paid a fortune for it. In the days it was millions of dollars worth of money to write this.
- [04:57]
Pat Wright
Yeah, I've heard that it was four times what he got for his previous opera, Don Carlos that premiered in Paris.
- [05:03]
Gerald Malone
Yes, yes, it was four times. Four times. So my question to you is, when are we going to give up this podcast and start writing opera? It might not be a bad plan.
- [05:13]
Pat Wright
Well, I think it probably would be a terrible plan because A, I don't write or read music and B, I talk to some composers right now and see how they're doing.
- [05:23]
Gerald Malone
Well, you can build a librettist in that case and I'll write the music or I'll whistle it as we go along. But when it was premiered in Cairo, it wasn't available for the opening of the Cairo Opera House. But because all the costumes got stuck in Paris and they couldn't get the costumes there in time.
- [05:41]
Pat Wright
A little matter of war. Right.
- [05:44]
Gerald Malone
They had to put on, well, the Franco Prussian War, the Prussians were wearing the costumes and it was absolutely impossible to get them out of Paris. So what they did was they put on Rigoletto instead. So there was some Verdi at the opening of the Cairo Opera House and it didn't premiere there until 1871 and Verdi didn't turn up. Believe it or not, he wouldn't go to Egypt because you probably know this story. I can see you nodding. Because he was terrified of being mummified so he would not travel.
- [06:20]
Pat Wright
And also he was giving a lot of attention to the premiere in Italy, which was shortly to follow a few weeks later in Milan at La Scala. He was premiering this with his perfect first choice, soprano playing the title role. A lot of attention. He cared very much how things were going to go at the Italian premiere.
- [06:42]
Gerald Malone
He's Mr. Italy. So if it's a choice between Cairo and getting it right at home base in La Scala, Milan, then you pitch for La Scala, which is what he did.
- [06:53]
Pat Wright
Yeah. And let's just take a moment to. To talk about how this subject matter came about, because I understand there was an Egyptologist involved.
- [07:05]
Gerald Malone
Well, there was. There was a massive amount of research that went into this and Verdi ignored the whole art and he just went off in his own way. And he and the librettist, Antonio Ghislanzoni, confected a plot that was complete nonsense. It wasn't in history. It's in a legendary period in Egypt, a war that never happened between Ethiopia and Egypt and all the characters on either sides.
- [07:32]
Pat Wright
Yes, it's interesting because there's some dispute about who concocted this story. Not that it was concocted, that is agreed. But this French Egyptologist, Auguste Mariette, he says that he was the one or his son even tried to sue to get some of the. The proceeds of the success of Aida. He said that he's the one who wrote a scenario, wrote a description of the story and sent it to the good friend and librettist who worked on Don Carlos, Camille du Loc. He sent it to Deloc and said, please put this in front of Verdi.
- [08:07]
Gerald Malone
Well, Verdi says he ignored it, but I don't know whether it's still yet to go to the Supreme Court. It may have to for some judgment. But Verdi ignored it and did his own thing, I think.
- [08:19]
Pat Wright
Yeah, they say that even though he's not obviously credited on the libretto writing, that he had a great deal to do with the words.
- [08:28]
Gerald Malone
Perhaps he did. What he probably had more to do with was the architecture and the surrounding scenery and the Egyptology, because they were just beginning to decipher hieroglyphs at that point. The Rosetta Stone had been discovered, etc. So there was a lot of interest in Egypt and it was the coming thing. And that is why I think the opera became so popular so quickly.
- [08:51]
Pat Wright
Well, that, plus the magnificence of Verdi's music, the power, the pathos, it all just sweeps you in as you listen to this opera.
- [09:02]
Gerald Malone
It does. And one of the things, though, I think it's always described as a grand opera, I think that's slightly wrong. It's characterized by, of course, the great chorus, the triumphant chorus, which we'll get to in due course. But in between, there are passages of intense personal nature which are not grand opera at all, but the toings and froings of the various characters who are conflicted in the piece. And also, the fourth wall is broken down. Quite often you will have characters talking directly to the audience to say, psst, this is what it really means. This is what I'm up to. He's a traitor. I don't like him. And the audience gets to know this with a pace that is unusual. As Wagner was rolling out ever more lengthy operas, Verdi was very keen on clipping them short. He used to write to his librettist, fewer words, fewer words. And he just liked to deliver impact. And there are some points that we will get to in this opera which are, I think, the most impactful in any of the operatic canon. Some passages are brilliant.
- [10:15]
Pat Wright
I agree 100%. It is delightful to be an audience member to experience these grand choral spectacles. Lots of opportunity for beautiful sets and choreography. But also these small, intimate scenes among people who are having real struggles within themselves and with other people.
- [10:38]
Gerald Malone
And the struggle is conflict between love and duty to countries. And that's true of pretty well all the main characters in this opera, except for Ramphas, the high priest, we all know where he stands, but everybody is conflicted. As we'll go through the characters, we'll discover that even the daughter of the pharaoh Amneris, who's in love with Radames, the military general, who is also in love with Aida. That's the big love triangle. They're conflicted at various times. And of course, Amanasro, who is the king of Ethiopia and is Aida's father, is conflicted as well, because he's been clear that his daughter is going to have to show loyalty to her country.
- [11:29]
Pat Wright
Yeah, and I would argue that he's actually not conflicted. He's pretty clear about what he wants. But we'll get to that when we get to that part of the story. So let's Open our story. We open on a scene with the high priest in Egypt and also this ambitious young military superstar, Herodames. He's our lead male character here. And the two of them are having a conversation.
- [11:54]
Gerald Malone
Well, he's not a superstar yet. He's about to become a superstar, and he hopes he's about to become a superstar. And Rampfus kicks off the opera by saying, we've had bad news. The Ethiopians have crossed the borders. We're all in trouble. And Radames rather wistfully says, have you consulted the will of Isis to get a new leader? And Ramfus says she's decided, but we don't know who it is yet. And Radames says, sort of pinning himself and thinking, well, it'll be me. He'll be a hero. Young he is, but froud and fearless. The word devises I shall make known to the king. So the king is going to then tell everybody who the commander is going to be. And Radames, when he's on his own, said, ah, if I were chosen.
- [12:46]
Pat Wright
Yes, yes. So his first expression directly to us is that he wants to have glory in combat, he wants to gain glory in his country. But before long he pivots, because that glory, he thinks, will win him the love, greater love and admiration of a.
- [13:07]
Gerald Malone
Certain beautiful, certain Aida, who is in Egypt and is a slave girl and is Ethiopian, and nobody knows spoiler alert, that she is actually the Princess Aida, who is the daughter of the king of Ethiopia. And Radames says, I want to return to you, Aida, in royal pomp and splendor, saying, for you I conquered. See your defender. But he's not her defender. No, he is the conqueror.
- [13:41]
Pat Wright
It's so hard to listen to this with him saying, I want to be this conquering hero, but it means conquering your people.
- [13:50]
Gerald Malone
That's the dilemma that comes out throughout the opera, etc. And he then moves on to praise Aida. And it's interesting that Verdi started off with an Italian aria in an Egyptian setting. It's often been said that it's really not Egypt. We're talking about Italy and Ethiopia, because all the idioms and everything that goes with it are really an Italianate bit of the opera. There are other places where themes come in that could be said to be Egyptian, but it ain't this aria.
- [14:25]
Pat Wright
Well, Verdi is in fact Verdi, so he's going to write the powerful song that he wants to write here. And no, no criticism. It was a smash success and it continues to be popular. Shall we listen to A little bit of heavenly Aida by Radames.
- [14:41]
Gerald Malone
We must do that.
- [14:43]
C
Sam.
- [15:08]
Pat Wright
Future.
- [15:35]
C
Sam. Sa Ra.
- [18:02]
Pat Wright
Well, that man Radames, he is in love. But the woman who now comes onto the stage is not Aida. Nope, it is Omneris, the Pharaoh's daughter.
- [18:13]
Gerald Malone
And she is on his case because she suspects there's another girl involved. Well, quite right. If she'd heard the aria, she'd have kind of got the gist of the thing. And she says to him, what a rare glow of joy gleams in your glances. So who is it? And she senses an evil mystery of treachery and shame and she challenges him straight up to say, so are you in love with somebody else?
- [18:43]
Pat Wright
He's like, no, no, I was just dreaming of military glory.
- [18:47]
Gerald Malone
Well, yes. Who believes that? So right on top of that, who comes in but Aida. And Radames spots her and said she here. And of course Amneris immediately says, and this is one of the points at which she addresses the audience. He is troubled over a glance he bestows on her, Aida, is she my rival, she whom I hold as slave? And there's clearly a whole lot of resentment bubbling up in Amneris when it comes to encountering Aida.
- [19:23]
Pat Wright
Absolutely, because she can read the room. She sees the sparks flying between those two.
- [19:29]
Gerald Malone
She does. And she now hypocritically turns to Aida and says, joy of my heart, come close to me, not as a slave, I greet you. Gosh, she's two faced, isn't she?
- [19:43]
Pat Wright
Yes, she says, call me sister. Well, I mean, that's hard to get on board with. She is the slave, she orders her around. And Aida knows this. She understands her subservient position. Unless you've read ahead or listened to us, we don't know that she's a princess yet. We just know that she is this captive woman that this man says he's in love with. But we get the three of them together pretty quickly here in the first scene of the first act and get a magnificent trio piece where after they've each spoken their part separately, they are together doing what opera does and has three characters expressing their feelings simultaneously in.
- [20:25]
Gerald Malone
Song to each other and also to us. It's very complicated, but when you see it acted out on stage, it isn't. It just becomes a dynamic dialogue or trialogue is really the right way to put it. And it's very compelling theatre when you compare it to the old baroque areas where people would stand still for 11 minutes and sing their hearts out 15 times repeating the same thing. This is entirely different. This is actually Netflix opera because it is packed with action.
- [21:09]
C
Sam.
- [21:59]
Pat Wright
This is opera for everyone. And we're listening to Aida Today by Giuseppe Verdi. And those were three of our main characters. Characters, the three involved in the love triangle.
- [22:11]
Gerald Malone
And they're slightly being nice to each other, but they're not really, because Amneris confesses while she's singing, she's talking to Aida. Quiver, you slave, and shiver your lover I shall discover. So we know the game's going to be up at some point or other.
- [22:27]
Pat Wright
Absolutely. But as this opera moves along. You told us it would, we have another bunch of characters entering the stage.
- [22:35]
Gerald Malone
Well, we do. A king comes in, preceded by guards, followed by the high priest Ramphis and other priests, ministers, captains. The whole of the capitol is there as they come in to make an announcement from a messenger.
- [22:50]
Pat Wright
Yes. And this is what we're talking about. We have these smaller scenes of personal emotion. And then now we transition to a large, grand scene that involves the king and all these people of the chorus on stage, all the people of Egypt. And the messenger wants to let us know that the Ethiopians who they have defeated in battle are attacking again. I mean, we know they've defeated them at one point because that's why Aida has been brought back as a slave to the pharaoh's daughter.
- [23:22]
Gerald Malone
It's a kind of tit for tat. They defeat each other. You grab a slave and then you go and burn somebody else's fields. And the Ethiopian hordes are stuck at Egypt's borders in brutal aggression. And all the crowd shouts, how can they dare it? And what they need is an illustrious commander. And the Ethiopians have an illustrious commander. Fierce and valiant is the leader Ammonasruel, who is, of course, Aida's father.
- [23:52]
Pat Wright
And she conveniently lets us know that.
- [23:55]
Gerald Malone
Well, she kind of turns to the audience and says, my father, yes, but they're ready to revenge the death. Battle, battle. Destroy them. Show them no pity.
- [24:06]
Pat Wright
Yeah, I mean, that's what happens when they're in war. And we're going to gear ourselves up for a very patriotic martial song by the king.
- [24:19]
Gerald Malone
Well, before that, the king is going to ask the holy goddess to pronounce, and he tells everybody that the winner of the competition to lead the invasion of Ethiopia is Radames. What a surprise that is. And Radames very kindly says diffidently, ah, great gods, I thank you. My dream has now come true. And Amneris says to the audience, our leader. And Aida Says I tremble. And then they're off to the holy temple.
- [24:54]
Pat Wright
Let's hear a little bit of the. The king and the chorus and everyone on stage in a big patriotic number. And the king, by the way, is, you guessed it, a bas.
- [25:16]
C
Ra Sa.
- [27:28]
Pat Wright
That grand spectacle of all those people singing about readiness to go to war. There's a little contrast in there. You might have heard Aida's high soprano voice in there. She is desperately worried and conflicted. For whom do I weep? For whom do I pray? Some power binds me to him, meaning Radames. I love him, but he's the enemy of my country. She knows what a mess this is for her. And the last bit that we heard in that clip is after everyone has processed away, she's left alone on stage and she says, ah, I joined in with them and I sang Return Victorious as everyone else did. But those are traitorous words.
- [28:19]
Gerald Malone
Well, she says, how can I say such words fraught with betrayal? And therein lies the signal point of that conflict between the loyalty to her father and to her lover, because she says to call one father the other my lover. Words sacred and forbidden, I dare not sigh. And this is a fantastic area where it just goes completely through the conflict that she has and all the difficulties and the curses and prayers that she's offering. She describes her torment as a sin, and then she ends in despair. May death and this his mercy end my fear. This is really conflicting her. And she reveals it to the audience alone. Goddess on high, bend unto me. Why can't I die? She really wishes that death was going to set her free.
- [29:16]
Pat Wright
She sees no other way out. She sees no other way out. The conflict is too great for her.
- [29:21]
Gerald Malone
It is. And it's really the exposition of a character the like of which you don't often see in opera at such length to betray exactly all the feelings that they have to the audience. So we now know what her conflict is, and it's not just something that she's reserving within herself. But of course, the interesting thing is that the other characters don't really know it, because they're not there.
- [29:46]
Pat Wright
No, they're not. This is for us to understand. And this is classically what even some of the oldest operas do, where she's alone using an aria to explore her feelings.
- [29:58]
Gerald Malone
Yes.
- [29:59]
Pat Wright
Then we move on to the second scene of the first act, and this is preparation for battle.
- [30:06]
Gerald Malone
This is a scene where Radames is kitted out with consecrated armor, black jacket. He's been given his own drone controls to take off to Ethiopia with him, Something like that. And there's huge ceremony, huge ceremony as he prepares to go off to battle.
- [30:24]
Pat Wright
Absolutely. And it is a way of getting this chorus involved, this non personal scene, in terms of character interaction. This is the state, this is the interests of the country. And Radames is ready. This is what he was praying for in that very beginning scene. He wanted to lead the army because he's confident he will succeed and somehow that's going to lead him. To be able to have Aida might not quite work out that way.
- [30:56]
Gerald Malone
Well, perhaps not. And the state is represented by the priests and by Ramphis, who talk of the gods. But rather oddly, as we're in Egypt in historical times, legendary times, they call on the ghost of the Holy Trinity, Father and Son in one. I think they're rather jumping the gun here towards Christianity. But that probably means that Verdi had more to do with the writing of this libretto than his Egyptologist.
- [31:28]
Pat Wright
Yes, yes. Although I understand the Egyptologist was very involved in the costumes and the sets.
- [31:35]
Gerald Malone
He was kept in Paris, I think, kept well out the way. I don't know whether he turned up in Cairo for the beginning of it or whatever, but probably not just the costumes.
- [31:45]
Pat Wright
Actually, he angled this Mariette angle to get to be in Paris. He'd been living for so many years in Egypt doing all this archaeology, that he was like, I want to take my family to Paris, but I need somebody else to pay for it. So he did say, please tell them I must be there to supervise all of this creation to make sure it's historically accurate. Which is sort of amusing, I suppose, because the story's not historically accurate and yet he knew it was going to be performed for an Egyptian audience.
- [32:15]
Gerald Malone
Well, he's the only guy who knew there were no killers in Egypt and in Cairo who could actually kit it out. Let's go to Paris.
- [32:22]
Pat Wright
Yeah. Yeah.
- [32:23]
Gerald Malone
Boondogon.
- [33:06]
C
Jam.
- [33:42]
Pat Wright
Now, all of the consecration of the armaments and of the leader having been done properly in the religious setting, we can move on to Act 2. And it's a very different scene.
- [33:55]
Gerald Malone
Yes. We're in a hall in the apartments of Amneris. She's surrounded by slave girls and Aida.
- [34:03]
Pat Wright
Is with her because she's one of the slaves. Yes, These slaves are entertaining her and they're also very ceremonially and elaborately preparing her for a victory celebration.
- [34:16]
Gerald Malone
And she feigns to be concerned for Aida. Poor Aida. Your bitterness and anguish I share with you, believe me. Amneris is hypocrite number one. Your friend I shall stand by you, Nothing I shall deny you shall try to cheer you while she's meanwhile. Psst. Behind her hand, calling her out for being in love with Radames.
- [34:42]
Pat Wright
Well, yes, she's showing so much tenderness, or saying words of tenderness that I weep for you. I'm so worried about you. Oh, how sad your people were defeated. Well, Omneris isn't sad for anyone that her side was victorious. And we do hear Aida grieving. How can I be happy? I'm away from my homeland. I don't know if my father's alive. I don't know if my brother's alive. I don't know what's happened to my people. And it's really tearing her apart. But Omneris isn't really focused on the big state issues. She isn't focused on the war. She's focused on her concern that there's something going on between the captain of the army, her Arames, and Aida. And that's what she focuses.
- [35:30]
Gerald Malone
She has a cunning plan, because what she does is she tells Aida that Radames is dead and he fell in the field of glory, just to test.
- [35:43]
Pat Wright
Her reaction, to judge her reaction. And Omneris, I mean, this is such a. Just a nasty thing to say. She says, well, he's dead, but think of it this way. The gods have avenged you. They killed the man who conquered your people. And Aida just. She gives Omneris what she wants, which is to show her grief. And I think the line that Aida utters when she just says, the gods have always been against me, it cuts right to the heart of what's going on in this show.
- [36:13]
Gerald Malone
So Radames was killed in battle. Why are you crying? Says Amnerius. Well, I mean, you give a good guess to that? I'll cry to the end of time, says Aida. Well, that's a bit of a giveaway, but. But then she hammers home the nail by saying that actually, no, no, no, he's all right. I was just kidding you. He's alive. I can read your heart. But I spoke false. Radames is living. And of course, the reaction that Aida has completely confirms what Omnerus is thinking of.
- [36:45]
Pat Wright
Yes, that was what Omneris was doing.
- [36:47]
Gerald Malone
And still you deceive me. She sings. Yes, you love him and so do I. So that's the first moment in the opera where it becomes completely clear. Well, you'd have to be pretty stupid to be an audience member who didn't really understand that the pair of Them were conflicted in love. But you now do understand it. You've got it in the libretto. And they understand each other. That's the important thing. You, my rival. Then we are equal. Yes, you and I.
- [37:18]
Pat Wright
But Omneris wants to point out her advantage. I, after all, I'm the princess. I'm the daughter of pharaohs. And you, you're a slave. And Aida just about blurts it out, I, too am. And then she stops herself because she realizes if she explains that she's the daughter of the king of Ethiopia, oh, she's had it. It would be terrible.
- [37:39]
Gerald Malone
She's had it. So she doesn't. We just avoid that by a slender margin.
- [37:45]
Pat Wright
Yeah.
- [37:46]
Gerald Malone
And Aida says, well, you live in beauty and regal splendor. All I have is what my heart tells me.
- [37:56]
Pat Wright
Yes. And Omneris confirms she's not happy with her situation still, because she knows there's this something between these other two. She tells us her heart rages with hate and with vengeance. She's not going to let this relationship stand.
- [38:14]
Gerald Malone
Of course, Radames is going to come back at some time. And Amneris, at the joyous feast of welcome, commands Aida to stay near her so that she can observe her and so that she can see her reaction when Radames returns to court.
- [38:33]
Pat Wright
Let's hear a little bit of this interaction between these two women who love the same man.
- [39:08]
C
Sam.
- [41:02]
Pat Wright
Omneris and Aida do not see things the same way. Omnis is in a more dominant, powerful position. But Aida has Radames love. But this scene of the personal is going to transform. We're going to hear outside the chorus talking about their excitement with victory. And just as these two finish up their scene, there's one of the things that Aida says that really struck me. She says, I want to appease your anger. This love which distresses you will die with me in the tomb. So Aida keeps talking about death and being in a tomb, and that's some real foreshadowing going on there. And she's begging for pity from Omneris, the genius.
- [41:49]
Gerald Malone
I think of this libretto is that just when you think that somebody is dominant, there's another little word comes in that makes you think, uh, the game's still afoot. And that is the case between Amneris and Aida in all of their exchanges. One of them is a supplicant, the other one is going to defy them. And that keeps going on throughout the opera.
- [42:14]
Pat Wright
It does. Well, time for another grand scene.
- [42:18]
Gerald Malone
Well, it is A grand scene. And we're at the gates of Thebes. There's everything, Pat. There's everything. Oh, we've got it all. We've got a triumphal arch, we've got the Temple of Ammon. There are purple cannabis. Everybody's idea of Aida is out there. What do you identify with Aida? Well, you've always seen everything in Paris, they dance us. There are animals, etc. At the Met production, one of the first ones, they tried to get an elephant at the Met but discovered that the stage wouldn't take it, so they had to make do with horses from Central Park. There are other productions, so there have been camels, eagles, falcons, dogs, snakes. And I heard that the Grand Teton Festival production, which is being planned, might feature a moose.
- [43:08]
Pat Wright
You didn't hear it from me.
- [43:11]
Gerald Malone
Oh, I know my Grand Teton. At Jackson Hole Airport, where there is a series of mooseheads, we have statues and art. Well, I came through an arch. I've got a photograph of it. That was one of my proudest moments of being to Wyoming.
- [43:26]
Pat Wright
Those are antlers. They shed naturally. No one has injured a moose to get those antlers. They're elk antlers and they are shed naturally. Then they're collected up at the right season and they're made into the antler arches, which we have not only at the airport, but also around the town.
- [43:43]
Gerald Malone
Square with that eco friendly nod to antler heads. In Wyoming.
- [43:50]
Pat Wright
No heads, just antlers, antlers.
- [43:52]
Gerald Malone
Okay, I'm with you.
- [43:56]
Pat Wright
Well, as you said, if there's going to be grand spectacle, and there is at various points during this show, but this is the grandest of them all, besides all the animals they bring in. They bring in the items that they've captured, possibly statues and any precious things they've been able to cart off from their victory.
- [44:17]
Gerald Malone
Well, I was very surprised to learn that part of the treasures were the parade of Ethiopian treasures. Did you know that the Ethiopians discovered coffee?
- [44:26]
Pat Wright
Well, thank you, Ethiopians. No, I did not.
- [44:28]
Gerald Malone
Well, I was unaware of that. And in 1872, they opened a chain of Aida bucks, but it never took off.
- [44:35]
Pat Wright
Oh, stop it. You've been waiting all, all this time to say that.
- [44:44]
Gerald Malone
And I'm going to have a coffee, please.
- [44:46]
Pat Wright
Do we have to stay. Stay alert for this? Well, let's listen to this grand celebration and it's going to start with some of this choral work and then segue into an instrumental piece which you all may recognize when you hear it. This Triumphal March is one of Verdi's more Famous tunes. It does get used other places. And we're not going to play the ballet music. But the ballet music then comes after the triumphal march. And as you can imagine, when Verdi needed to mount this in Paris, they required more ballet music than he had originally put in. And he expanded it, and he was so pleased with it, he told his publisher, henceforth, every score must have the extended ballet that I wrote for Paris. And it does. When you see the show.
- [45:42]
Gerald Malone
Yep.
- [46:01]
C
Sa ham.
- [49:37]
Pat Wright
Grand celebration on a grand scale. And we're going to see Radames talking to the king. After all, he's the conquering hero.
- [49:48]
Gerald Malone
Yes. And he's bringing the prisoners in, and they all come in, and skulking at the back is Aida's father, Ammonasruh, who's disguised as an officer. And Aida immediately recognizes him. Oh, terror. He, my father and her father, all absolute shock.
- [50:08]
Pat Wright
Yes. She's not really good at hiding her reaction to surprises. She just shouts out, my father.
- [50:16]
Gerald Malone
Well, she's not the person that you would entrust a secret to, really, are you? No. She's pretty honest, and she reacts as her emotions dictate. And her father, being very careful, says, don't say a word. But, I mean, it's all a bit too late. They know he's her dad.
- [50:34]
Pat Wright
Yes, but they don't know who he is.
- [50:36]
Gerald Malone
They do not know he's the king. That's the point.
- [50:39]
Pat Wright
Yeah.
- [50:40]
Gerald Malone
And then he goes on to say, I'm her father, but I too, have been defeated. We've all been defeated. I fought for my king and country, loyally with everybody else. And then he very importantly tells the lie. On the ground in his blood, unattended lay my king when the slaughter had ended. So he kids on that the king is dead. But he isn't.
- [51:04]
Pat Wright
No, he isn't. But I think it's perfectly understandable for him to lie about that, honestly, because they would kill him immediately if they realized he was their leader. And he moves on not only from saying, yes, our king died in battle and you've taken us all captive. But he looks at the Pharaoh and says, you are mighty. You have been victorious. Please grant mercy to these captives of yours. We have been laid low. You have won, but you are a great king. Please be merciful.
- [51:37]
Gerald Malone
Well, fat chance of that. And Aida and the prisoners actually join him and say, see a sire bent in sorrow before you, torn in torment. However, Ramphas and the priests have got these people's numbers. King, beware of these treacherous creatures. Close your heart. And it's going to be very difficult for the king to show any mercy to them at this stage.
- [52:01]
Pat Wright
Well, one of the complicating factors is that the populace chimes in saying, yes, let's calm everything down. Show mercy, King. Which is very interesting. It's just the priests and those people in leadership who are telling him, no, no, defeat them completely. Grind them into the dust. And the populace says, no, be magnanimous. Show mercy, King.
- [52:23]
Gerald Malone
Show mercy. And Radames says, how the tears in her eyes, dark and tender, lend her beauty having another look at Aida. So sympathy is her great thing. She knows when to turn on the waterworks.
- [52:37]
Pat Wright
Well, again, as you said, she's very honest, very genuine, and this is what she's feeling. She's seeing her people and her father enslaved and captured, and everyone's begging for mercy. Except, of course, the people high up in the power structure.
- [52:52]
Gerald Malone
Well, of course, Amneris as well. She sees what's happening and she comes in with a plea to the audience. See those glances of passion and yearning while their faces are radiant and burning. I, between them, alone and rejected, seek revenge for dishonor and scorn. She doesn't think much of the people's plea for all of this mercy, no.
- [53:16]
Pat Wright
But this does give us another big scene with all of these people singing in different emotions guiding what they're saying.
- [53:57]
C
Sam Holy.
- [55:00]
Gerald Malone
The king who wants to reward Radames asks him what he would like. Yes, and he says, then hear me. I ask our Ethiopian prisoners be left alive and free to go Heed my advice and warning, says Ramphis, the high priest. They'll be back for us whenever they get the chance. If you free them, they'll fight more fiercely than before. These are arguments that are battled about in even conflicts today. Nothing's changed.
- [55:32]
Pat Wright
And it is. Mercy can be very powerful to bind loyalty, or it can also open you up to vengeance. It's complicated. But the pharaoh has promised a boon, has promised to give Radames that which he asks for. And he asks for them to be freed.
- [55:49]
Gerald Malone
Radames is acting under a misapprehension, of course, because he says that Amanasro, their king, is dead, so they can't be a threat anymore. But of course he's not. He's been deceived into this. And the king says, I yield unto your counsel. Because after all, he's the guy who's won the war, so he's entitled to ask what he wants for safety of peace, an even stronger Bondi offer. And that's the moment when he gives him the present that Radames does not want, his daughter, the most precious thing.
- [56:23]
Pat Wright
He has to give. And he thinks, I've done so well here honoring our hero, our great hero. And Aida is crushed by this news.
- [56:34]
Gerald Malone
But Radames is also offered the kingship you'll guide as king and queen. And you just wonder whether or not he's having a bit of a hmm, what's all happening moment here.
- [56:47]
Pat Wright
But he tells us when he sings, we're going to listen to a little bit of this. He tells us, no, the throne of Egypt is not worth Aida's heart. What he says to us on stage anyway is that it's not worth it to become the king, the pharaoh, if it means I lose Aida. And Omneris is over the moon with happiness. My plan has worked out perfectly.
- [57:11]
Gerald Malone
She's stunned by surprise and happiness. She tells us, hooray, yes, she's got our man.
- [57:16]
Pat Wright
And Aminasro, the king of Ethiopia and Aida's father. He is delighted with this turn of events because he sees an opening.
- [57:28]
Gerald Malone
He's a real politician. I see the hope of vengeance like dawn upon the sky. And that really leaves it as a cliffhanger for the next act.
- [57:50]
C
Sam.
- [58:21]
Pat Wright
You'Re listening to Opera for Everyone, a radio show and podcast that embraces drama and story through love of music. Opera for Everyone airs Sundays from 9 to 11am Mountain Time on 8091 Khol, Jackson, Wyoming's only community radio station. I'm your host, Pat Wright, joined today by Gerald Malone. If you'd like to hear more conversations about opera, please join us on the Opera for Everyone podcast. And if you subscribe and rate us, you'll be helping with our mission to bring opera to everyone by helping others find this show. Stay with us. The second half of today's show is coming right up. Welcome back to the second half of Opera for Everyone. I'm your host, Pat Wright, joined today by Gerald Malone. Welcome back, Gerald.
- [59:37]
Gerald Malone
Fabulous to be here.
- [59:38]
Pat Wright
And just a reminder, everyone, Gerald has a wonderful resource for opera lovers, therestisopra.com full of delightful writings about shows that you've seen.
- [59:51]
Gerald Malone
Well, that's kind of your, Pat. The thing you haven't mentioned, of course, is that we have a news column which is actually moderated by my West Highland terrier, Muckle. I thought it was a good idea to have a third party do this so that I could not be accused of partiality. Nobody can blame the dog.
- [60:11]
Pat Wright
We'd never want to blame the dog. And the dog is just living the truth of opera being for everyone.
- [60:18]
Gerald Malone
He's a Handel fan, actually, and a wonderful dog. He barks to the moon.
- [60:25]
Pat Wright
That sounds like almost the name of a. Isn't it Rusalka as the song to the moon.
- [60:32]
Gerald Malone
Well, he's the dog who sings the barks to the moon. Il Dogo de la Luna is an opera by Haydn, and dogs feature frequently throughout opera. He's a great columnist. Great columnist. Muckle Malone. Seek him out.
- [60:50]
Pat Wright
Absolutely. Everyone hurry. The rest is opera.com? all right, I would like to take a moment here in the beginning, getting back on track, to say thank you to all of the people involved in creating this lovely CD that we've been listening to. This recording is from 1970 with the London Symphony Orchestra, conductor Eric Leinsdorf and the John Aldiss Choir.
- [61:16]
Gerald Malone
Leinsdorf's a really interesting conductor. He was leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the night that President Kennedy was assassinated. And when he heard the news, he got them to stop, have a moment of respect, and then immediately launched into the third movement of the Eroica Symphony by Beethoven, Impromptu, put his baton down, and everybody left in mourning. Quite a story that.
- [61:40]
Pat Wright
Yes, yes. I mean, and the orchestra was able to pull that off without any preparation.
- [61:46]
Gerald Malone
Impromptu. But he was an acerbic conductor and they fired him a couple of months later. But not for that.
- [61:53]
Pat Wright
No. I mean, that was a wow. I can. Well, this is a few years on 1970 that this recording was made. I'd like to highlight some of the singers that we've been listening to. Aida is sung by Leontine Price, who I understand made quite a common career choice to play Aida. The great Leontine Price. Omneris sung by Grace Brumbry Radames. You may have recognized the voice. That was Placido Domingo. Amonasro, Cheryl Milnes, Ruggiero Raimondi sings Rhamphus, the head priest, and Hans Zoltan, the pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Thank you one and all for this beautiful music.
- [62:37]
Gerald Malone
It's a fabulous cast. I think if I dig around in my archive somewhere, I'll probably find the cd, because Leontine Price was one of my favorite singers back in the days when I was a young lad and so was Grace Bunbury. It's a fantastic bringing together. I presume they recorded it in London because that's where the orchestra is. So everybody traveled to London and put this together. It's fantastic.
- [63:05]
Pat Wright
Yes, it really is. And I felt very fortunate to be able to get a hold of this CD with this wonderful cast. There are others out there, and we say this all the time, but I'll just take a moment to say now, please use what you learn in listening to opera for everyone to prepare you to go see, in whatever format, streaming live, a full production of Aida. You'll be set up well when you listen to this, to know what's coming and have your ears ready for it. But nothing compares to experiencing the full dramatic sweep without us interrupting with our chat.
- [63:44]
Gerald Malone
Well, nothing is better than our chat.
- [63:49]
Pat Wright
They're two separate things.
- [63:50]
Gerald Malone
Step down to actually see the real opera, Pat. No, I can tell you the other thing that's brilliant is if ever there's the opportunity to see it in Meta HD or even go into the archives there, you will see some fantastic productions of this. And I hope that their new production, which I thoroughly enjoyed of Aida, will be available in HD very shortly on their website.
- [64:14]
Pat Wright
Yeah, and you can find different productions of Aida on various streaming sites, so it's not one of the hard ones to find, I'm happy to say. That's not true for all of the operas that we discuss here on Opera for Everyone. Just a reminder that this opera premiered in Cairo in 1871 with the relatively new Cairo Opera House featuring Verdi. And the man who was one of the moving forces behind this, the one who greenlit the exorbitant amount of money that Verdi was paid, was the Khedive Ishmael. This is at a period of time when the Ottoman Empire is still in existence, and he's the Viceroy of the Ottoman Empire in charge of Egypt, an autocrat, to be sure, but also known as a modernizer. And he saw the Suez Canal's construction, he oversaw this opera house, he even got some of his education in France. So it's this interesting blending of west and east in this opera, in this experience.
- [65:19]
Gerald Malone
And it goes on today. I was at the Muscat Opera House a couple of years ago, which is a huge edifice that has been built there at massive expense with a view to bringing Western opera, but also to have Middle Eastern opera created in the Arabic tradition. And it's an excellent mixture and it's a fabulous place to go.
- [65:41]
Pat Wright
We already mentioned that. About six weeks later, Verdi had his European premiere in Italy in La scala in early 1872. But I just wanted to highlight one other funny premiere. Well, actually, the regular premiere in New York was in 1873. 1876 it premiered in London, but in 1886, it had its New York Metropolitan Opera debut. You may be familiar with a little bit of the old opera house, the new Opera house. Well, the New York Metropolitan Opera was the new opera house, and they premiered it in 1886. But fascinatingly, they did so with the singing being done in Germany, not Italian.
- [66:23]
Gerald Malone
I had no idea why they did that.
- [66:26]
Pat Wright
I'm sure there's a really good reason I didn't.
- [66:28]
Gerald Malone
And has anybody else, any listeners who could point us to another production that has been in German? We'd be welcome to hear it.
- [66:38]
Pat Wright
I don't imagine that's going on right now. But, you know, it's interesting because opera. There was a time when opera was translated more, but I could understand it possibly being translated into English for New York, but German. There you have it. I suppose that's what the singers could do. I couldn't tell you, but we've taken up enough time for you to get your thoughts together, Gerald. It's time for the Opera Helmet Quiz, where you tell us what's happened so far in our first two acts.
- [67:05]
Gerald Malone
I'm dreading the Opera Helmet quiz. Well, let's see how we can get on. Well, we kick off in Egypt, on the Nile, mythical times. There's a war between Egypt and Ethiopia. Nothing really changes in the Middle East.
- [67:18]
Pat Wright
Well, that's a fictitious war, though.
- [67:19]
Gerald Malone
But I wish the other wars were fictitious.
- [67:23]
Pat Wright
Yeah.
- [67:24]
Gerald Malone
So we're introduced to a number of characters. Amneris, the daughter of the pharaoh, has a slave girl, Aida, who's really an Ethiopian princess, but we don't know that at the beginning. Her father is Amonasro, who's the king of Ethiopia. He's missing in action at the beginning. Radames wants to be the commander of the Egyptian forces who's in love with Aida. But just to complicate things, he's also loved by the jealous Amneris. There's a triangle. Radamese becomes the commander of the forces. Aida is conflicted. She doesn't know whether or not that she's got to love Radamese or whether the duty to her country will take over and take precedence. And we move on to scene two, where we're in a temple. Radames is kitted out for war. He's off to slay the Ethiopians. And then in Act 2, Amneris is surrounded by slave girls, pretends to be sympathetic to Aida. She's sharing sorrow, that sort of thing. She manages to get out of Aida that she loves Radames. And then we move on to the biggie. Radames is back, and this is what everybody will recognize as the iconic Aida, where in the temple of Amon Palm's triumphant march victory over the Ethiopians. Little does he know that Ammonasro is captured and Amanasro then tells them that he's Aida's father. But he doesn't tell them that he's the king.
- [68:56]
Pat Wright
Well. And he only tells them because she has shrieked out, my father.
- [69:01]
Gerald Malone
Well, it would be difficult to avoid telling it. But he tells her to remain stumnant, that he's the king. And the pharaoh gives Radames a reward that he doesn't want. The hand of his daughter in marriage. That's the last thing that he wants. But Radames asks him to release the prisoners and the people back that, and the high priest does not. So there's a bit of a conflict between the establishment and the people here. They want to be merciful. And so the people are released. But Ida feels terrible. She thinks it's the end of life. But then her father has a plan. He tells Aida, take heart. Our country's fortune will alter for the better. So what we need to know in Act 3 is what has king dad got up his sleeve?
- [69:53]
Pat Wright
Indeed. Well, let's start off our examination of Act 3 with the music that's played right in the beginning and will reappear a purely instrumental introduction to this location.
- [70:10]
Gerald Malone
Pat, have you ever been to the Nile?
- [70:13]
Pat Wright
No, I've never been to Egypt.
- [70:15]
Gerald Malone
Well, you have been to the Nile if you've listened to this opera, because this passage is one of Verde's most famous passages about creating a scene. And I think when everybody hears this, they'll feel they're in the banks of the Nile as well. He uses very few instruments. It's a very spare technique. Everybody else at the time was using huge orchestras. He pins it down to shimmering violins and the introduction of a flute and what we can all recognize as an Egyptian theme. And it is one of the most beautiful atmospheric introductions to an Acton opera that I think I've ever heard.
- [71:41]
Pat Wright
We're on the banks of the Nile, and nearby is this temple where Omneris is going to be led by the priests, by Rhamphus, the head priest, to prepare for her wedding. She needs to be in prayer all night long to prepare herself for marrying the conquering hero Radames.
- [72:05]
Gerald Malone
They weren't very good at hen parties, I have to say, when it came to Egyptian weddings. All night in a temple with Ramphast, the annoying high priest. Terrible.
- [72:18]
Pat Wright
And for the American listeners not familiar with that expression, bachelorette party is what we call it here.
- [72:25]
Gerald Malone
Well, that's far posher than a hen party. I didn't know that. We always learn something in opera for everyone.
- [72:34]
Pat Wright
Well, if that's your takeaway, I'm happy to have helped. So it's. It's actually, though, it's a lovely, lovely scene because we don't see Omneris being angry as we see her so often in this play. She's being solemn here, and she is sincerely praying for a happy marriage with the man who's been told he will be marrying her. And the chief priest is in support of that because the chief priest is. I mean, after all, this is a. A theocratic sort of government. He is deeply woven into the power structure. And seeing the Pharaoh's daughter married to the military victor, that's all going quite well as far as he's concerned.
- [73:20]
Gerald Malone
He is the representative of Isis, the God to whom everybody, including the Pharaoh, pays attention. And if you remember spooling back, it was Isis who appointed Radames as the commander of the forces. So there's a bit of political to and froing here, certainly.
- [73:40]
Pat Wright
Yes. Well, they move along for this vigil, this night of preparation and a little more evocation of the Nile in the orchestra. And we see Aida come on alone, and she lets us know that she's worried. She's afraid. Radames has told her to come here and meet with him, but she assumes, it seems, that it's to say goodbye. And one other comment about the freed Ethiopians. The priests only agree to support the pharaoh's decision to honor Radoma's wish. If yes, you can free all these captives. However, Aida must stay and her father must stay. That'll be our security. So Aida has not been freed. Aida remains a slave. And she just sees her. All of her hopes and dreams crumbling. I'm never going to see my home again. I am a slave forever. I don't have any connection with the man I love because he's about to marry the pharaoh's daughter. And she then sings what I understand to be a very well known, very famous soprano. Aria, opera.
- [75:00]
Gerald Malone
O my homeland, land of my fathers, you, my home. And before that, she precedes it by saying, the Nile soon will be a tomb to me. She's predicting that. She knows that there's trouble ahead.
- [75:51]
C
My beauty.
- [76:02]
Gerald Malone
My beauty.
- [77:04]
C
Sam. Ra. My father.
- [78:21]
Gerald Malone
Ra.
- [79:08]
Pat Wright
Oh, that was Aida in Aida by Giuseppe Verdi here on Opera for Everyone. And she's just poured out her heart, her grief and her longing for her homeland. And somewhere in there, unseen, her father has listened to her, grieving that she will never see her homeland again. She's surprised to see him. After all, she's come here to meet Radames, but Amanasro has shown up. He senses where her head is and he starts off comforting her and saying, oh, daughter, you will see your homeland again.
- [79:49]
Gerald Malone
Well, because he's got a cunning plan and he tries to soften her up to start with. And she believes it once again. I'll see. Forests lie enchanted, the balmy valleys are temples golden glow. Believe that if you like. It doesn't look as if that's going to be the outcome at this stage.
- [80:07]
Pat Wright
No, no, we're going to do something a little unusual here where we're going to play three small pieces of music from this ongoing conversation between father and daughter, something that Verdi was very good at, these family conversations. And he does start with this sympathetic, sweet presentation. But even in this first short clip I'm going to play, you'll hear Amanasro, you'll hear the tone shift. You don't need to speak Italian to understand that he is delivering some hard truths here. Please don't forget that the Egyptians are our enemy. They've defiled our altars, they've invaded our homes, they've carried off our maidens in slavery, murdered our mothers, etc. So get a little flavor of what's happening here with Hida's father.
- [80:57]
Gerald Malone
In other words, he's turning up the volume. And he starts as Mr. Soft Guy, but ends as the hardest guy you can ever imagine.
- [81:06]
Pat Wright
Yeah, he'll get harder yet, but let's listen to this first interaction. Well, it's going to get more intense here because Amonasro lets Aida know that he understands she and Radames are in love with each other. He's very well informed, he's figured it all out. He knows Radames is coming, but he's gotten there ahead of him. And the father says to Aida, daughter, you have a job to do. You need to find out where the Egyptian army is moving next. And Hiatus rejects that instantly. She sees it as a betrayal of her beloved and he flips to the hardest possible condemnation of her, saying, don't you understand what they have done to us? And she begs for pity and wants his understanding about her love, but that's not what's on his mind.
- [83:08]
Gerald Malone
And look out for what comes next, because it's bullet sharp exchanges. What started out as controlling turns into a rapidly changing mood and the volume is turned Up. Father. My father, Aida says, betrayed by my daughter Aminatra. And then there follows a sequence that Verdi really just turns on the power of the music. Torrents of blood flow endlessly, he says, mingling with dust and ember. Down in the dark and crimson flood. Ghosts of the dead, remember, see them rise and bear their cry. Tis you who wrought our doom. You Aida. He's talking to his daughter. She's absolutely terrified. No more. Oh, no, father, no more, she pleads. But he doesn't stop there. It gets worse and worse. Up from a mire of misery, one of the pallid wretches watch her. She sways and stretches, groping to find your brow. Yes, tis your mother. You're shuddering, hearing her curses. And Aida throughout all this is groaning loudly throughout Amnazra's singing. And then she says, oh, no, my father, not that, not that. And he ends with a curse. You're not my daughter. You are no more than a slave of Egypt.
- [85:45]
C
Sa.
- [86:11]
Pat Wright
It's unspeakably powerful. At this point, as he's berating her, she's usually crushed down to the ground. No, father, I have pity.
- [86:20]
Gerald Malone
She gives in. She gives in. She says, father, I'm in their bondage no longer. So she's taken the point.
- [86:26]
Pat Wright
And she says, I'm not their slave. I will be worthy of my country.
- [86:31]
Gerald Malone
As the turning point of the opera, of this, and as domestic arguments go, I will give it a hundred out of ten. And Amanasro is really pretty effective in making Aida do what he wants.
- [86:41]
Pat Wright
I mean, let's be honest, he has a point.
- [86:44]
Gerald Malone
Well, he does. And he's an effective politician, he's an effective king. And he sees a plan ahead, right?
- [86:52]
Pat Wright
He says, remember that the whole people, they can rely on you, you can save them. And she's given in. And she says, oh, my beloved country, you ask so much of me. But she says she's gonna do it and she's suffering.
- [87:09]
Gerald Malone
Land of my fathers, for you I suffer. She's going to do.
- [88:42]
Pat Wright
Aida has agreed to do what her father has asked her to do, what he says she's required to do as a faithful daughter of her country.
- [88:52]
Gerald Malone
And then, right on cue, Radames appears. My love, my treasure. Ah, my Aida. Tis useless. Leave me. All hope is gone. I shall adore you and need you. He's clearly still on the hook.
- [89:07]
Pat Wright
Well, it's very interesting because they're not communicating effectively in the beginning, because he's gone to. To say I love you. I love you. I Love you. And she's there to say, but you're marrying another woman. This is not gonna happen for us.
- [89:22]
Gerald Malone
And then she rebuts him to say, well, if you're gonna marry another woman, you're swearing a falsehood. How could you dare? I loved a man and should despise a liar. So she's getting pretty vicious with him.
- [89:33]
Pat Wright
Yeah. Radames also brings her the news that Ethiopia, he has heard, is on the march again. They've already invaded, and I, as commander in chief, must once again go and defend the country. Go and defeat their warriors one more time.
- [89:53]
Gerald Malone
So Aida tells him, fear the wrath of Amneris, a tigress. In revenge, Radames promises to defend her. Aida says, you can't. But she's got a plan.
- [90:05]
Pat Wright
Yes.
- [90:05]
Gerald Malone
And Radames says, name it. And what's the plan? To flee?
- [90:10]
Pat Wright
Yes. It's the only way we have to get out of here. Only way?
- [90:13]
Gerald Malone
Deep in the forest yonder, my gods I should abandon. Far in the florid wilderness, the pair of them are singing together of this myth of flight. They're going to be in the wilderness, and that will be fine. Ah, come, my love. Ah, come.
- [90:27]
Pat Wright
Yes, but Radames resists in the beginning because he wants to focus on, I can't leave Egypt. This is the land where I first earned glory, where we first loved. How could I leave this place where I am so worshiped? In essence, he really resists, because for him, Egypt is a great place to be. But she says, no, but our love can't live here.
- [90:50]
Gerald Malone
Well, he replies to her, aida, what's happening? And then she immediately says, you do not love me. Go. I not love you. Go rejoin your bride, Amneris. No. Never. Well, yeah, you say. Not never, said Aida. Then send us to our slaughter. Aida and her father. You're going to condemn us.
- [91:16]
Pat Wright
So she, just as her father had upped the ante and upped the intensity of the result of his decision, she's.
- [91:24]
Gerald Malone
Pretty good herself at upping the ante. So I've learned a few lessons from her father. She's her father's daughter.
- [91:30]
Pat Wright
Yes. And just as Aida had relented to the argument that her father was making here, Radames relents and agrees to Aida's argument and says, we will flee together. Yes, we will. And interestingly, after all this intense drama of. Of people disagreeing and. And doom and gloom, this next piece that we're going to hear a little bit of, when Radames says, yeah, okay, you're right. We'll flee. It's a little upbeat. It's fascinating.
- [92:01]
Gerald Malone
Well, you wouldn't really want Radames as your commander in chief because he's changing his mind all the time. And he and Aida sing together. On we flee to hope and dawn Come with me Ah, come I love you, star of love oh, guide us on. There's not much sense of duty in that, is there? And they start to run off.
- [92:19]
Pat Wright
Well, it's really interesting because after they've had this happy moment together of agreeing a plan, they want the same thing. They've agreed what they're going to do. Aida in what all I can say is in her seductive mode, and this will be the last bit you hear in this clip that we're going to play. She says, but tell me, how do we avoid the Egyptian legions? What is that route?
- [92:44]
Gerald Malone
Aida comes in with a punch, doesn't she? The approach of our choice for tomorrow's attack will tonight remain unguarded. And Aida, to help her father, says, what is that? And then Radames commits the crime. The gorges near Napata.
- [93:03]
Pat Wright
And he's not. But he's still caught up in that moment of joy and excitement and anticipation with her. And she's just slipped this in and he's betrayed his country.
- [93:14]
Gerald Malone
Well, it's the equivalent, if you're in Jackson Hole, of saying, well, he's coming in over the Teton Pass. And not exactly, but, well, pretty much.
- [94:38]
C
Sausage Aida here on Opera for Everyone.
- [95:05]
Pat Wright
And Aida has just gotten Radames, the Egyptian commander, to tell her what route his army is going to take.
- [95:15]
Gerald Malone
The moment he does, Amanasrus steps out of the shadows. Radames says, who is listening? And it all comes out, Aida's father, Ethiopia's king. You, the king. How can it be a nightmare brought on by my frenzy? There's a lie, but it's not a lie. It's the truth. And Radames has betrayed his country.
- [95:38]
Pat Wright
And he says it out loud, just in case we weren't clear. I am dishonored. Dishonored. I betrayed my country. He knows that he shouldn't have said this.
- [95:47]
Gerald Malone
And Amelasru comes up with a plan and says, no, no, no, no, no, you've won, Aida.
- [95:51]
Pat Wright
No, my son, it's fine.
- [95:52]
Gerald Malone
You've won Aida, and I'll give you a crown in Ethiopia. Never mind that, Egypt and crown that you're going to get. You're going to get one in our country, and you'll Get Aida. And Radames is not convinced. My honor lost forever the land my fathers founded. I did betray for you.
- [96:11]
Pat Wright
That's right. This is this central issue you highlighted for us in the beginning of love, of an individual versus duty to one's country. Well, he doesn't have much chance to think all this through, because then Omneris shows up. We knew she was nearby. And she realizes exactly what's happened.
- [96:30]
Gerald Malone
Well, she's got a habit of stepping out from behind pillars at exactly the wrong moment. And she shouts out, are betrayed. Aida, my rival. And Aminasdro, lunging towards Amneris, raises his dagger, but is stopped by Radames. Mm.
- [96:49]
Pat Wright
And Radames surrenders to Rhamphus, the chief priest, who he was there with Omnerus. And we end Act 3 with the.
- [96:57]
Gerald Malone
Arrest of Radames, but not before Radames has encouraged Aida and her father to flee. Come, come, my daughter. They're off. Go pursue them, says Ramphes. But that chance of catching them there, they slip away.
- [97:12]
Pat Wright
He's arrested. Well, act four, our final act in this enormous emotional opera.
- [97:23]
Gerald Malone
Act four begins. We're in the palace, and on one side there is a prison, and Radames is there. Amneris is there, wondering how she's going to save him. She still loves him, but it's a curse. It's a madness. How could he love somebody else? So Amneris is cursing Aida but trying to save Radames. Radames has vowed to say nothing in response to the charges. He's taking the fifth, and she knows that that will condemn him to death, and she's not prepared to take any other route out of this.
- [97:58]
Pat Wright
No, he tells us, I will not defend myself. I don't feel myself traitorous or guilty. My honor remains unstained by guilt. In his own mind, he hasn't done anything wrong, he's saying. Which is a fascinating contrast to him saying, I betrayed my country at the end of Act 3. But there you have it. He believes that he is not guilty of a dishonor here.
- [98:23]
Gerald Malone
I think he's got a different story for public consumption from what he's thinking in private, frankly. And he's saying that he hasn't betrayed anybody in public. But he understands what he's done.
- [98:42]
Pat Wright
Mar.
- [99:07]
C
Regir sa.
- [100:25]
Pat Wright
Radames lets us know. He understands the penalty is death for what he has done, and he's accepted it. He understands that he can't defend himself. He won't defend himself, and he will be condemned to death. And Omneris is not reconciled to that outcome.
- [100:45]
Gerald Malone
No, she's not. And Radames thinks to live in dishonor with her would be appalling, considering that Aida has been killed by her aid. But Amneris tells him she is living. Radames can't believe it. Among the fleeing enemies who fell before our forces, we found her father. Father's dead and she has vanished without a trace. Assumption. Living?
- [101:17]
Pat Wright
Yes. And Omneris, in light of all of this and his refusal to defend himself, knowing he's going to die, she's bereft. She gets some great pieces of singing in here. Who will save him? It was my fault. It was my jealousy that led him to this. So she's having a moment of reflection on her own action, that maybe she wouldn't do it all the same again.
- [101:44]
Gerald Malone
And she offers that even if Aida is living, that if he will swear not to see her ever again, then she will plead on his behalf. She thinks she can get him off. So silence is not a virtue in terms of Radames strategy. But he says to her, I cannot swear to renounce her forever. Ah, save your life, Radames. I cannot. And then she asks him yet again to renounce her. No, never. And then Amneris says, in death, you will regret it. But Radames says, I am prepared to die.
- [102:20]
Pat Wright
Yeah, it all happens moving along, moving along where the priests come in. Rhamfus is there. And in the description that Verdi set up for this scene, it's meant to be on two levels. An upper level, which is golden and bright, where the priests are, which is where Omnaris is. And then down below is this tomb, this vault, this dark place where we'll end the act. But right now, he's being condemned by the priests. Your fate has been decided, he says. And Omneris just has this moment of realization of what this means for the man that she loves, because she does in fact, love him. Entombed alive. Your thirst for blood, you villains, it's endless. You call yourself heaven's ministers and you do this to a man. So she is, in a way, she's the character I see, questioning her own self and the people around her more than anyone else. She's just bereft. She is in agony over what is happening that she's had some part in.
- [103:34]
Gerald Malone
And the priests come back and say, spirit of justice, see us here before thee. And escorted by the guards, Radames crosses the stage and is led into the subterranean hall.
- [103:48]
Pat Wright
And now that he's been put in this Vault, this tomb. Our attention shifts away. They're still there, but our attention shifts away from them, down to Radames in this tomb where he's meant to die.
- [104:02]
Gerald Malone
Well, it's a dark place, and it's important for the opera that it's separated always from the dwelling space above, because nobody can hear what's happening in this tomb. And that's very important for the plot coming up, as we'll see. So he says, at last, the stone has sealed my final dwelling, because they push a stone across it and that's it. He's stuck there. But all of a sudden he hears something who's sobbing. There's a phantom, a vain illusion. No, these are human features. And guess who it is. The missing Aida, who has snuck into the tomb beforehand because she knew that he'd be there. I'm near you, she says.
- [104:51]
Pat Wright
Yes, yes, we do get a moment where Radames sings of his love for Aida, the fact that he'll never see her, and takes some comfort in the fact that she won't know what happened to him because she's escaped. But as you say, she hasn't escaped. She's gone in because she knew that that's where he would end up, and she wanted to be with him. So the two of them are entombed alive and the oxygen is failing. They are going to die together. And there's this beautiful piece that Aida sings as a comfort to them both.
- [105:28]
Gerald Malone
Well, the oxygen masks don't drop down from the bulkhead to allow them to deal with this emergency. And Verdi actually writes some of the most beautiful music in this poignant moment where they both sing to each other. Radames to die so pure and lovely. Aida, who is beginning to lose it, has this moment when she has a mad scene. And now every opera we know, Pat, has to have a mad scene. And this is one of them. And she sees, gently, from on high, an angel has descended. And she's hallucinating. But it's a very, very beautiful passage.
- [106:07]
Pat Wright
You know, it's so interesting you say that, because I don't see this as a mad scene. I see this as someone who's transitioning from life into death. And regardless of her or anyone else's beliefs, she sees I'm moving into heaven. She sees this angel of death, shimmering wings, eternal joys. Heaven is opening to welcome us. So I see her just as Radames says he was prepared to die. In her moment of almost death, she is saying, yes, I think I am going to a Better place. And I'm doing it with the one I love. I actually see it as someone who is making a very graceful transition into death.
- [106:53]
Gerald Malone
Well, that's very generous. And actually it is reflected in the.
- [106:57]
Pat Wright
Words and the music.
- [106:59]
Gerald Malone
And the music, however, the directions say brackets, raving close brackets. But maybe contemplative would be a better description of it because she is actually reflecting on her life in a rather touching way.
- [108:53]
Pat Wright
And now our attention is divided between the bright upper level of the priests and Omnis and rhamphus and the lower level in the tomb with Aida and Radames. The priests and priestesses sing to the spirit that they worship. And Aida says, this is our funeral hymn. And I think, Gerald, we need to listen to the very end of this opera because it is Verdi at his most masterful. We have these priests and priestesses singing. We hear Omneris, the armezzo soprano, praying for him because she doesn't know Aida is down there praying for heaven to receive him. And it's just so evocative. You will see the dying happening in front of you. You will hear it in the music.
- [109:51]
C
And you'll see it in your mind's eye. Sam Ra ram sa.
- [113:53]
Gerald Malone
Ra.
- [114:19]
C
Sa.
- [114:48]
Gerald Malone
That music is one of the most wondrous pieces that Verdi ever wrote. Shimmering violins, the words slow in time with their dying breaths. We shall at last be free. Forever free. And the coup de grace is that Amneris has appeared on the top level, and she has the last word, truly the capstone of the opera. She intones the word, seeking pardon. Grant me your pardon, O my beloved. And Isis, grant you eternal rest. Pardon, Pardon.
- [115:25]
Pat Wright
Pace, pace, pace.
- [115:27]
Gerald Malone
Yes. With that, there is a settling chord, like an amen, and this tremendous opera is over.
- [115:38]
Pat Wright
Yeah. It's as many of these big scenes as we've had in this opera. This is not the time for that. This is the end of the life of these two people who are in love.
- [115:49]
Gerald Malone
And so many operas that were contemporary end with a rising shout. I mean, even Puccini's dead people shouted alaria. At the last. This is quiet. And I think that Verdi was making a point that the music tells it all. And his music fades away with the life of his heroines and heroes.
- [116:12]
Pat Wright
Yes, yes. Well, Gerald, I want to thank you once again for joining me on Opera for everyone to talk about this magnificent opera, Aida.
- [116:23]
Gerald Malone
Well, Pat, thank you for the opportunity to delve into this great opera, one of my favorites. As you know, I thought I knew it well, but I now know it. So much better having had the opportunity to discuss it with you. And I just hope your listeners get a tenth of the pleasure from listening to your program as I've had being your co presenter today.
- [116:45]
Pat Wright
How kind. Thank you everyone for listening. Thanks for listening to this episode of Opera For Everyone. I've been your host today, Pat Wright, joined by opera critic Gerald Malone. Opera for Everyone airs every Sunday morning from 9 to 11am Mountain Time on 89.1 Khol in Jackson, Wyoming. If you've missed any of today's show, you can find this episode and many others on the Opera for Everyone podcast. And while you're there, please subscribe, subscribe, rate and comment. By doing this, you'll be helping others to find us. I know opera can be unfamiliar and challenging, but everyone loves a good story and a story set to music is even better. That's why the mission of this show is to make opera enjoyable for everyone. Opera for Everyone.