"[about Radames] What that man understands could be etched in a grain of sand."
Aida is a tragic 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. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world. At
"Im sorry for everything Ive said and for anything I forgot to say too. When things get so complicated I stumble, at best, muddle through. I wish that our lives could be simple; I dont want the world: only you. I wish I could tell you this face to face, but theres never the time - never the place! So this letter will have to do; I love you. -- "Radames Letter"
"Im here to tell you we can never meet again. Simple really, isnt it? A word or two and then a lifetime of not knowing where, or how, or why, or when youll think of me, or speak of me, and wonder what befell that someone you once loved so long ago so well. -- "Written in the Stars"
"For years Ive been stealing from the palace. I thought, one day, I could get back to Nubia, but if I can send my king home..."
"I would not have thought it possible that these Egyptians could give me one more reason to hate them!"
"I knew you would survive, that I had trained my daughter well. At least I would not let myself believe anything else (after being reunited with Aida)"
"This should have been my time; Its over. It never began. -- "I Know the Truth"