“Aida” – Act 1

ACT ONE

Scene One

A hall in the King’s palace at Memphis. (To the right and left, a column with statues and flowering shrubs. At the rear, a great doorway through which can be seen the temples, the palaces of Memphis, and the Pyramids.)

Ramfis Yes, it is rumoured that the Ethiopian has dared to challenge us again, threatening Thebes and the valley of the Nile. Shortly a messenger will bring us the truth. Radamès Have you consulted Holy Isis? Ramfis She has named the supreme commander of the Egyptian armies. Radamès Oh, fortunate man!

Ramfis (looking steadily at Radamès, meaningfully) He is young and brave. Now I shall take the deity’s decree to the King. (He exits.) Radamès (alone) If only I were that warrior! If my dream might come true! An army of brave men, led by me— victory, and the applause of all Memphis! To return to you, my sweet Aida, crowned with laurels... to say: “For you I fought, and for you I conquered!” Heavenly Aida, divine form, mystic garland of light and flowers, you are the queen of my thoughts, you are the splendour of my life. I would restore to you your beautiful skies, the gentle breezes of your native land, place a royal crown upon your brow, raise you a throne close to the sun. Oh! Heavenly Aida, divine form, mystic ray of light and flowers, you are the queen of my thoughts, etc. (Amneris enters.) Amneris What unusual joy is in your eyes! With what noble pride your face is radiant! How enviable, oh, how greatly, would be the woman whose beloved face could awaken such a light of joy in you!

Radamès My heart was lost in a glorious dream. Today the Goddess named the warrior who will lead the Egyptian forces into battle. Ah, if I were chosen for such an honor... Amneris Has no other dream, more tender, more sweet, ever spoken to your heart? Have you no desires, no hopes here in Memphis? Radamès I! (What a question! Perhaps she has discovered the secret love that burns in my heart... Perhaps she has read in my thoughts the name of her slave!) Amneris (Oh, woe if love for another should burn in his heart! Woe if my eyes should penetrate this fatal mystery!) Radamès (seeing Aida) It is she! Amneris (to herself, watching him) He is troubled! What a look he gave her! Aida! Could she perhaps be my rival?

(turning to Aida) Come, my dear, come near me. You are neither slave nor handmaiden here, where in tender affection I have called you sister. You weep? Reveal to me the secret of your tears. Aida Alas! I hear resounding the terrible cry of war; I fear for my unhappy country, for myself, for you. Amneris Do you speak the truth? Does no graver care trouble you? (to herself, looking at Aida) Tremble, guilty slave, ah! tremble lest I see into your heart! Tremble, lest those tears and that blush reveal the truth to me! Radamès (to himself, looking at Amneris) On her face flash anger and suspicion. Woe if she should read the secret love in our hearts! Aida (to herself) No, my heart does not grieve for my afflicted country alone; the tears I shed are tears of unhappy love!

(The King enters, preceded by his guards and followed by Ramfis, ministers, priests, officers, and others.) The King A matter of great importance gathers you, O faithful Egyptians, around your King. A messenger has just arrived from the borders of Ethiopia; he brings grave tidings. Hear him now. (to an officer) Let the messenger come forward! (The messenger enters.) Messenger The sacred soil of Egypt has been invaded by the barbarous Ethiopians; our fields have been laid waste, our crops burned, and, emboldened by their easy victory, the invaders are already marching on Thebes! All And they dare so much! Messenger An indomitable, fierce warrior leads them: Amonasro. All The King! Aida (aside) My father!

Messenger Thebes is already in arms, and from her hundred gates will burst forth upon the barbarous invader, bringing war and death. The King Yes! Let war and death be our battle cry! All War! War! etc. Terrible, relentless war! The King (approaching Radamès) Venerated Isis has already chosen the supreme commander of our invincible forces: Radamès! All Radamès! Radamès Ah! Thanks be to the gods! My prayers are answered. Amneris (to herself) He, the commander! Aida (to herself) I tremble! Ministers and Captains Radamès! Radamès!

The King Go now, O warrior, to the Temple of Vulcan. There put on the sacred arms and fly to victory! Onward! Hasten, Egyptian heroes, to the sacred banks of the Nile. From every heart let the cry ring out: War and death to the invader! Ramfis Glory to the gods! Let all remember that they direct the course of events, that in the power of the gods alone lies the warrior’s fate. Let all remember that in their power, etc. Ministers and Captains Onward! On the sacred banks of the Nile, may our breasts form a barrier; let but a single cry resound: War and death to the invader! etc. The King Onward! To the banks of the Nile, etc. Aida (to herself) For whom do I weep? For whom do I pray? What power binds me to him? I must love him, yet he is an enemy, a foreigner! Radamès A sacred thrill of glory fills my entire soul. Onward! Let us hasten to victory! War and death to the invader!

Amneris (bearing a banner which she presents to Radamès) Accept, O leader, from my hands this glorious banner; may it be your guide, may it be your light on the path to glory. The King Onward! To the sacred banks of the Nile, etc. Ramfis, Priests Glory to the Gods, etc. Ministers and Captains Onward! To the banks of the Nile, etc. Radamès, Messenger Onward! Let us hasten to victory, etc. Amneris May it be your guide, etc. All War! War! etc. Destruction to the invader! etc. Amneris Return victorious! All Return victorious! (They all leave, except Aida.)

Aida Return victorious! And from my lips came the impious words! Victorious over my father, who takes up arms for me, to give me back a homeland, a kingdom, and the illustrious name which here I am forced to conceal. Victorious over my brothers... that I may see him, stained with their beloved blood, triumph amid the acclaim of the Egyptian legions! And behind his chariot, a King, my father, bound in chains! My mad words, O gods, scatter them! Restore the daughter to her father’s embrace; destroy the armies of our oppressors! Ah! Wretched girl! What have I said? And my love? Can I then forget this burning love which, oppressed and enslaved, delighted me here like a ray of sunlight? Shall I call down death upon Radamès, upon him whom I love so much? Ah! Never on earth was a heart torn by more cruel anguish! The sacred names of father and lover I can neither utter nor recall; for one, for the other, confused and trembling, I would weep, I would pray. But my prayer turns to blasphemy... tears are a crime for me, a sigh a sin... My mind is lost in darkest night, and in my cruel anguish I long to die. Gods, have pity on my suffering! There is no hope for my sorrow. Fatal love, terrible love, break my heart, let me die! Gods, have pity on my suffering! etc.

Scene Two

Interior of the Temple of Vulcan at Memphis. A mysterious light descends from above. A long row of columns, one behind another, disappears into the darkness. Statues of various deities. At center stage, on a platform covered with tapestries, stands the altar, surmounted by sacred emblems. Smoke from the incense rises from golden tripods. Priests and priestesses; Ramfis at the foot of the altar.

Priestess Mighty Phtha, life-giving spirit of the world, ah! With the Chorus of Priestesses We invoke thee! Ramfis and Priests Thou who from nothingness didst bring forth the waters, the earth, the heavens, we invoke thee! Priestess Infinite Phtha, life-giving spirit of the world, ah!

With the Chorus of Priestesses We invoke thee! Ramfis and Priests God, who of thine own spirit art both son and father, we invoke thee! Priestess Uncreated, eternal fire, from which the sun received its light, ah! With the Chorus of Priestesses We invoke thee! Ramfis and Priests Life of the universe, myth of eternal love, we invoke thee! Priestess Infinite Phtha! Ramfis and Priests We invoke thee! (Radamès is brought in unarmed. As he approaches the altar, the priestesses perform the sacred dance. A silver veil is spread over Radamès’s head.) Priestess Infinite Phtha! Ramfis and Priests We invoke thee!

Ramfis (to Radamès) Mortal, beloved of the gods, to you are entrusted the fortunes of Egypt. May the sacred sword, tempered by the god, become in your hand terror, lightning, and death to the enemy. Priests May the sacred sword, etc. Ramfis (turning to the god) O god, guardian and avenger of this sacred land, stretch forth thy hand over the land of Egypt. Radamès O god, who art the leader and arbiter of every human war, protect and defend the sacred soil of Egypt! etc. Ramfis and Priests Stretch forth thy hand over the land of Egypt. O god, guardian and avenger, etc. (While Radamès is invested with the sacred arms, the priestesses and priests resume the religious hymn and the mystic dance.) All Mighty Phtha, spirit of the world, etc.