Aida (or Aïda, ) 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 New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, Aida has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera.
Elements of the opera's genesis and sources Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, but Verdi declined. However, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to Khedive Pasha a plot for a celebratory opera set in ancient Egypt. Khedive Pasha referred Mariette to theatre manager Camille du Locle, who sent Mariette's story idea to Verdi. Eventually, Verdi agreed to compose an opera based on that story, for 150,000 francs.
Because the scenery and costumes were stuck in the French capital during the Siege of Paris (1870–71) of the ongoing Franco-Prussian War, the premiere was delayed and Verdi's Rigoletto was performed instead. The first opera performed at the Khedivial Opera House, Aida eventually premiered in Cairo on 24 December 1871.
Performance history
Cairo premiere and initial success in Italy
Verdi originally chose to write a brief orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. He then composed an overture of the "potpourri" variety to replace the original prelude. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its—his own words—"pretentious silliness". This overture, never used today, was given a rare broadcast performance by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra on 30 March 1940, but was never commercially issued.
Aida met with great acclaim when it finally opened in Cairo on 24 December 1871. The costumes and accessories for the première were designed by Auguste Mariette, who also oversaw the design and construction of the sets, which were made in Paris by the Opéra's scene painters Auguste-Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (acts 1 and 4) and Édouard Desplechin and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (acts 2 and 3), and shipped to Cairo.Auguste Mariette to Paul Draneht (General Manager of the Cairo Opera House), Paris, 28 September 1871. (Translated and annotated), . Although Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, he was most dissatisfied with the fact that the audience consisted of invited dignitaries, politicians and critics, but no members of the general public.The Cairo Opera House could only hold 850 spectators . He therefore considered the Italian (and European) première, held at La Scala, Milan on 8 February 1872, and a performance in which he was heavily involved at every stage, to be its première.
Verdi had also written the role of Aida for the voice of Teresa Stolz, who sang it for the first time at the Milan première. Verdi had asked her fiancé, Angelo Mariani, to conduct the Cairo première, but he declined, so Giovanni Bottesini filled the gap. The Milan Amneris, Maria Waldmann, was his favourite in the role and she repeated it a number of times at his request.
Aida was received with great enthusiasm at its Milan première. The opera was soon mounted at major opera houses throughout Italy, including the Teatro Regio di Parma (20 April 1872), the Teatro di San Carlo (30 March 1873), La Fenice (11 June 1873), the Teatro Regio di Torino (26 December 1874), the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (30 September 1877, with Giuseppina Pasqua as Amneris and Franco Novara as the King), and the Teatro Costanzi (8 October 1881, with Theresia Singer as Aida and Giulia Novelli as Amneris) among others.
Despite this acclaim, by the early 1870s Aida had also drawn charges of being simultaneously old-fashioned and imitative of newer trends, criticism that contributed to Verdi's growing disillusionment with the Italian operatic establishment during this period.
Other 19th-century performances
Details of important national and other premières of Aida follow: Argentina: 4 October 1873, at the original Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, located at Rivadavia and Reconquista, then replaced by the headquarters of the Bank of the Argentine Nation. United States: 26 November 1873, Academy of Music in New York City, with Ostava Torriani in the title role, Annie Louise Cary as Amneris, Italo Campanini as Radamès, Victor Maurel as Amonasro, and Evasio Scolara as the King; the conductor was Verdi's friend and student Emanuele Muzio. Germany: 20 April 1874, Berlin State Opera, with Mathilde Mallinger as Aida, Albert Niemann as Radamès, and Franz Betz as Amonasro Austria: 29 April 1874, Vienna State Opera, with Amalie Materna as Amneris Hungary: 10 April 1875, Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest France: 22 April 1876, Théâtre-Lyrique Italien, Salle Ventadour, Paris, with almost the same cast as the Milan premiere, but with Édouard de Reszke making his debut as the King. The elaborate production was mounted by Verdi's French music publisher, Léon Escudier,Richard Macnutt (2001). "Escudier", Grove Music Online and the performance was conducted by Verdi. United Kingdom: 22 June 1876, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Adelina Patti as Aida, Ernesto Nicolini as Radamès, and Francesco Graziani as Amonasro Australia: 6 September 1877, Royal Theatre, Melbourne Munich: 1877, Bavarian State Opera, with Josephine Schefsky as Amneris Mexico: September 1877, Gran Teatro Nacional, with Angela Peralta as Aida, Giuseppe Frapolli as Radamès,Fanny Natali as Amneris and Giuseppe Villani as Amonasro (La Voz de Mexico) Stockholm: 16 February 1880, Royal Swedish Opera in Swedish, with Selma Ek in the title roleEk Biography at operissimo.com (in German) Palais Garnier, Paris: 22 March 1880, sung in French, with Gabrielle Krauss as Aida, Rosine Bloch as Amnéris, Henri Sellier as Radamès, Victor Maurel as Amonasro, Georges-François Menu as the King, and Auguste Boudouresque as Ramphis.; Metropolitan Opera, New York: 12 November 1886, conducted by Anton Seidl, with Therese Herbert-Förster (the wife of Victor Herbert) in the title role, Carl Zobel as Radamès, Marianne Brandt as Amneris, Adolf Robinson as Amonasro, Emil Fischer as Ramfis, and as the King. Rio de Janeiro: 30 June 1886, Theatro D. Pedro II. During rehearsals, the performers of the Italian touring opera company had disagreements with the local conductor Leopoldo Miguez, described as "inept". After the failure of two replacement conductors, Arturo Toscanini, at the time a 19-year-old cellist who was assistant chorus master, was persuaded to conduct the performance. He conducted the opera from memory with great success."Interesting bits about Aida" by Jill Leahy, via Pittsburgh Opera
20th century and beyond
A complete concert version of the opera was given in New York City in 1949. Conducted by Toscanini with Herva Nelli as Aida and Richard Tucker as Radamès, it was televised on the NBC television network. Due to the length of the opera, it was divided into two telecasts, preserved on kinescopes, and later released on video by RCA and Testament. The audio portion of the broadcast, including some remakes in June 1954, was released on LP and CD by RCA Victor. Other notable performances from this period include a 1955 performance conducted by Tullio Serafin with Maria Callas as Aida and Richard Tucker as Radamès and a 1959 performance conducted by Herbert von Karajan with Renata Tebaldi as Aida and Carlo Bergonzi as Radamès.;
La Scala mounted a lavish new production of Aida designed by Franco Zeffirelli for the opening night of its 2006/2007 season. The production starred Violeta Urmana in the title role and Roberto Alagna as Radamès. Alagna subsequently made the headlines when he was booed for his rendition of "Celeste Aida" during the second performance, walked off the stage, and was dismissed from the remainder of the run. The production continued to cause controversy in 2014 when Zeffirelli protested at La Scala's rental of the production to the Astana Opera House in Kazakhstan without his permission. According to Zeffirelli, the move had doomed his production to an "infamous and brutal" fate.Christiansen, Rupert (9 December 2006). "Zeffirelli's triumphant Aida at La Scala" . The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2016.BBC News (11 December 2006). "Booed tenor quits La Scala's Aida" . Retrieved 19 May 2016.Day, Michael (9 October 2014). "Franco Zeffirelli takes on La Scala: Legendary opera director in battle with theatre over sale of one of his 'greatest' productions to Kazakhstan" . The Independent. Retrieved 19 May 2016. Aida continues to be a staple of the standard operatic repertoire.Operabase. Performances during the 2008/09 to 2012/13 seasons . Retrieved 19 May 2016. It is frequently performed in the Verona Arena, and is a staple of its renowned opera festival.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast,24 December 1871CairoConductor: Giovanni BottesiniEuropean premiere8 February 1872La Scala, MilanConductor: Franco FaccioAida, an Ethiopian princesssopranoAntonietta Anastasi-PozzoniTeresa StolzThe King of EgyptbassTommaso CostaParide PavoleriAmneris, daughter of the Pharaohmezzo-sopranoEleonora GrossiMaria WaldmannRadamès, Captain of the GuardtenorPietro MonginiGiuseppe FancelliAmonasro, King of EthiopiabaritoneFrancesco StellerFrancesco PandolfiniRamfis, High PriestbassPaolo MediniOrmоndo MainiA messengertenorLuigi Stecchi-BottardiLuigi VistariniVoice of the High PriestessThe High Priestess's name was Termuthis in early documentation.sopranoMarietta AllieviPriests, priestesses, ministers, captains, soldiers, officials, Ethiopians, slaves and prisoners, Egyptians, animals and chorus
Instrumentation 3 flutes, 3 flûtes d'amour, (3rd also piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, cimbasso, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, harp, strings; on-stage banda: 6 Egyptian trumpets, military band, harpThe music of Aida , Utah Opera, 7 March 2016
Setting
The libretto does not specify a precise time period, so it is difficult to place the opera more specifically than the Old Kingdom. For the first production, Mariette went to great efforts to make the sets and costumes authentic. Considering the consistent artistic styles throughout the 3000-year history of ancient Egypt, a given production does not particularly need to choose a specific time period within the larger frame of ancient Egyptian history.
Synopsis Backstory: The Egyptians have captured and enslaved Aida, an Ethiopian princess. An Egyptian military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the King of Egypt. To complicate the story further, the King's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.
Act 1 Scene 1: A hall in the King's palace
Ramfis, the high priest of Egypt, tells Radamès, the young warrior, that war with the Ethiopians seems inevitable, and Radamès hopes that he will be chosen as the Egyptian commander by the Gods (Ramfis, Radamès: "" / Yes, it is rumoured that Ethiopia dares once again to threaten our power).
Radamès dreams both of gaining victory on the battlefield and of Aida, an Ethiopian slave, with whom he is secretly in love (Radamès: "" / Heavenly Aida). Aida, who is also secretly in love with Radamès, is the captured daughter of the Ethiopian King Amonasro, but her Egyptian captors are unaware of her true identity. Her father has invaded Egypt to deliver her from servitude.