During the reign of one of the great Pharaohs of Egypt, Amonasro, King of Ethiopia, declared war against the Egyptians, and invaded their country. In spite of their daring, however, the Ethiopians were beaten time after time; for the Egyptian army was then at the height of its glory, and was victorious wherever it went.
After one of his most crushing defeats, Amonasro had to bear yet another bitter blow, for amongst the many captives carried away by the all-conquering Egyptians, was his own fair young daughter, the Princess Aïda.
Although unaware of their lovely captive's high rank, the conquerors guarded her with special care, because of her dazzling beauty and gentle grace; and upon her arrival in Memphis, the great Pharaoh presented her as a slave to his daughter Amneris. The Princess of Egypt was so pleased with the sweet charms of the girl-captive, that she refused to regard her as merely an ordinary slave, but treated her instead with the familiarity and affection of a sister; and so, for a time, Aïda's bonds rested but lightly upon her, and except for a natural grief for the sufferings and wrongs of her beloved country, and her own enforced exile, she had little to trouble her. But after a while, when the joy of a great love came into her life, a change took place; and then for the captive maid black storm-clouds of woe quickly gathered around.
Radames, a handsome young officer in the King's Guards, owing to his high position, had frequent access into the presence of the Princess and her attendants; and from the very first moment his eyes rested upon the beautiful and gentle Aïda a passionate love for her sprang up within his heart, which deepened and strengthened daily. His love was quickly returned by the captive maid; and although at first her conscience blamed her for loving the enemy of her country, she could not long struggle against a passion that would not be subdued, and so resigned her heart unreservedly into the keeping of the handsome young Egyptian.
Their joy, however, though they tried to keep it secret, was not long permitted to remain unclouded; for the noble Radames was also beloved by the Princess Amneris, whose proud and passionate nature could brook no rival in her affections. For long, the fair Amneris had cherished her passion, and had vainly longed to have it requited; but Radames, though he quickly guessed her secret, refused to meet her open advances, for he was too noble to accept favours from one whom he could not love. Yet, in spite of the young officer's coldness, Amneris had always hoped to win his affection in the end; but with the advent of Aïda, her hopes were quickly dashed to the ground. For although Radames and the beautiful slave at first tried to hide their love, the jealous eyes of the Princess speedily detected it; and then, determined that her passion should not be slighted, she still used all the means in her power to obtain her heart's desire.
War was soon again declared between the rival countries, the King of Ethiopia having once more gathered a large army together and already invested Thebes; and the Egyptians having also massed their mighty forces, instructions were given to the priests of Isis to learn the will of the goddess as to who should lead them against the foe. On a certain day, the priests declared that the dread goddess had spoken; and Pharaoh then called together all the officers of his forces that he might announce to them the name of their chosen leader.
The young Radames, who had already proved himself brave and fearless in battle, had great ambition to distinguish himself in the coming campaign in a greater degree; and upon hearing that the goddess had named the champion of Egypt, he was filled with eager anticipation, hardly daring to hope that the chosen one might prove to be himself, yet longing above all things that it might indeed be so, for he now had a greater incentive than ever to win renown, because of the exquisite joy of laying his laurels at the feet of his beloved Aïda—and as he wandered early into the vast hall of the royal palace on the day on which the announcement was to be made, his mind was full of this sweet, delirious thought. But his happy reflections were presently interrupted by the entrance of the Princess of Egypt, who, quickly noting his rapt expression, desired him to tell her of his pleasant thoughts; and Radames, on his guard at once, replied that, carried away by his ambition, he had been daring to hope that he might be the leader chosen to head the Egyptian army.
But Amneris was not satisfied with this, and softly asked if his mind were not rather occupied with some fairer attraction to be found in Memphis; and as Radames was vainly endeavouring to frame an answer to this pertinent question, the object of his happy thoughts, the beautiful Aïda herself, came into the hall with sad, downcast looks, for she had been weeping for the sufferings of her country.
As the young officer's eyes fell upon the fair form of his beloved one, he could not repress an exclamation of delight; and this, coupled with the tender glances unconsciously exchanged between the lovers, confirmed the former suspicions of the Princess, whose heart was straightway filled with a consuming jealousy. The entrance of Pharaoh with his ministers, officers, and guards, together with the priests of Isis, prevented any outburst of passion at that moment; and as soon as the Court was assembled, the great business of the day went forward.
After the King had scornfully reminded the company of the presumption of the Ethiopian monarch in daring to invade their land, and when the warriors had answered his proud call to arms with eager cries of vengeance, the name of the champion chosen by the goddess Isis to lead them to victory was declared; and amidst a sudden hush of breathless expectancy, Pharaoh announced in a clear, ringing voice: "The chosen leader of our host is Radames, the Brave!"