A I D A

A tragic love story about an enslaved Ethiopian princess and an Egyptian commander.

Giuseppe Verdi’s AIDA was presented by Victoria State Opera at Carlton Football Ground, Princes Park, Melbourne, 2, 4, 6 March 1989.

PERFORMANCE CUSTUMES

Aida is one of Verdi's greatest triumphs, telling a story packed full of human drama and tragedy, with a hugely effective ending that delivers a real sting in the tail.

The story tells of an Ethiopian (Kushite) princess, Aida, that revolves around its eponymous character, an Ethiopian princess who was captured and made into a slave in Egypt. No particular period was given, although the story takes place in the Old Kingdom which was the third millennium BC, the era between the third and sixth dynasties, 2686 – 2181 B.C. The action plays out against conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt. Both sides are at war, but principal characters between both sides find that they have come together – most notably, Aida and the Egyptian military commander, Radamès, who has fallen in love with Aida.

LIVE PERFORMANCES AT AIDA (CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW ‘ME’)

How can Aida fall in love with someone who is on the opposing side and vice versa? So it's that very conflict that gives the Aida opera its real edge. Love vs duty. Love vs patriotism. Love vs honour. Battles in which no happy ever after ending is guaranteed. Brimming with human passion and it seems many of its characters wear their hearts on their sleeves. Initially, Aida keeps her real identity a secret. Radamès, in turn, is adored by Amneris, the daughter of the Egyptian king.

However, the feeling is not a mutual one and Amneris even suspects that this is the case. Suspecting Aida and very much the jealous woman scorned by Radamès' love for Aida, Amneris uses duplicitous to the point where she tricks the Ethiopian princess into declaring her true feelings after falsely claiming that Radamès has died in combat. After Radamès returns successful from battle and a hero, the king says that he can have anything he wishes. However, his request for the release of Aida and her father Amonasro (now hostage) is denied.

Amonasro is also a very much passionate man, and in this case, that passion is fuelled by a love of his country. He cannot bear the thought of his daughter falling for an Egyptian warrior and in the third act, he denounces his daughter, casting her off as a slave of the pharaohs.

Instead, the Egyptian king proclaims that Radamès will be wed to his daughter and will be a successor to the throne. It's also Amneris who finds Radamès with Aida and raises the alarm. The irony is that in doing so, she starts the chain of events that lead to the final fate of Radamès.
However, Radamès arranges a clandestine meeting with Aida who has been instructed by her father to locate the Egyptian army. He not only suggests a safe route of escape, but also the location of the Egyptian army to Aida. Radamès is found with the enemy and is promptly captured and sentenced to death. Despite Amneris' pleas for mercy, Radamès is still taken to a vault in which he is to be buried alive. However, Aida is waiting there for him, and shares his death.
  
I pretty much enjoyed doing my act as the princess’s accompanying men with bunch of fun loving casts.  It’s a dramatically interesting story that excited minds of the audience and resulted in one of the world's opera masterpieces.

THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN ANCESTRY

                                        

CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF?

This is a heart wrenching 3 part documentary of ‘who we are’, ‘where we come from’ and what our ancestors have to endure to survive and thrive throughout their lives unlike our today’s humanity (cousins), ungrateful, unhappy, selfish and war prone with all the abundance of advanced technology to do the impossible tasks and amassing material benefits to satisfy our celestial quests. Please, must see all the episodes to grasp the different countries’ fascinating revelations.

Over 6 billion people live on our planet. The human species—with individuals of many shapes, sizes, and colours—appear to be very diverse. Where did all these people come from, and how closely related are members of the human family?

Both archaeological and DNA evidence support our origins in Africa. The oldest humanlike fossils have been found in Africa and analysis of genetic variation among living peoples suggests a common origin in Africa.

Route of Ancestral Emigration

Our species has now spread to all parts of the world, but our origins are debated. There are several viewpoints on this but the two major competing hypotheses on the origin of modern humans: the Out-of-Africa hypothesis and the multiregional hypothesis. Both agree that Homo erectus originated in Africa and expanded to Eurasia about one million years ago.

The ‘Out of Africa’ hypothesis is currently the most widely favoured explanation accounting for the origins of modern humans. It suggests that modern humans originated in Africa within the last 200,000 years from a single group of ancestors. Scientists have used genetic markers to trace the migration routes and origins of modern human populations.

Modern humans continued to evolve in Africa and had spread to the Middle East by 100,000 years ago and possibly as early as 160,000 years ago. Modern humans only became well established elsewhere in the last 50,000 years.

The ‘Multiregional’ hypothesis contends that after Homo erectus left Africa and dispersed into other portions of the Old World, regional populations slowly evolved into modern humans.

First thousand years ago, the planet was advancing into an ice age, causing draught in Africa and effectively increasing the size of the continents as the vicious cycle continues to this day. These changes made walking a coastal route for exodus, as it’s today, to Australia easier than it would be today with no barriers and restrictions.

Almost as soon as our ancestors left Africa about 50, 000 years ago, modern humans showed up in Australia, as they did in the present day migration from the early 17th century onwards when the continent experienced the first coastal landings and exploration by European explorers, with the establishment of British penal colony in New South Wales.

At about the same time a group took the coastal route to Australia, a related group headed to the Middle East, Western Europe, north and into central Asia. Central Asia became the staging ground for migrations of ancestors throughout the planet including to the Americas. Subsequent migration from central Asia also can be traced into north and east regions. Significantly, later migrations, about 40,000 years ago, moved into Western Europe and north and east to Siberia.

Migration also occurred into North and South America within the last 20,000 years. Scientists estimate that as few as 20 individuals may have founded the native population of the Americas.

With all the mystifying studies still underway in various countries to this day, I’m optimistic, value the scientific endeavour to unravel our origins and find no reason to doubt, we all are children of one family regardless of our present day country we call home as humans continue to emigrate to this day. Without all the cultures, beliefs, ritualistic conditions created to live in peace and harmony, the tentative and untimely religions chosen, the advent of diverse colours of our skins, preferred or life styles we’ve been conditioned to, foods we used to eating and so forth, lest we forget.

Above and beyond all the discoveries to be progenies of one species, we all are human beings with similar features and desires even if we didn’t come from the same sorts, no reason to feel and act the way we do toward one another. However, even if we do, we must rise to the challenges and learn to change our mindset and egos engraved in us for so long and mindfully focus on our potential to live together with all the difficulties and possibilities to be grateful and help one another. “If we can learn to hate, we can be taught to love” –Nelson Mandela

In spite of everything, I know how hard it would be, we all wear down sometimes in our lives, but we need to discipline and retrain ourselves again, again and again and strengthen our willpower if we want to ascertain change. We must also remember, we’re all came (born) with nothing and leave (die) with nothing. Think about that!
“No excuse to not get on.”

Also see: https://www.transpacificproject.com/index.php/genetic-research/