Verdi's Aida is sung in Italian, and 99.9% of performances have English supertitles projected over the stage.
I've been in your situation tons of times. Your grandfather is taking you to the opera and he has given you a 4-page synopsis of the opera that you just can't understand. So here you are, 4 hours before the opera begins and you still can't make yourself read it. Well here is a short and sweet synopsis of Aida that will have you all prepared for when your grandfather asks you to recite the entire synopsis to make sure you read it:
Radames is the leader of the Egyptian army, who is about to attack Ethiopia. Aida is an Ethiopian girl who was captured by Egypt's army and sold into slavery, but she's really the daughter of the King of Ethiopia. Radames is in love with Aida but the Egyptian princess loves Radames. Radames goes to battle and when he returns, he has captured Aida's father (who is actually the king of Ethiopia in disguise). Radames gets tricked into telling Aida's father the route that Egypt is taking to attack Ethiopia. The Egyptian princess finds out and then she sentences Radames to be buried in a tomb alive. (You also might want to know that Aida goes down with him, so they'll be together forever.)
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Related Article: How To Go To An Opera
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Just for your reference, the flag at the very top of this page is the flag of Ethiopia. You will probably want to go to the "Related Article" link above if you are planning on going to see this opera.
Suggested citation:
Koehler, Robert. "The Simplest Aida Synopsis In The World". Forward Upward.
Apr 29, 2005. http://www.deadendinternet.com/forwardupward/aida.html
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