Aida in Beijing
China Economic Net
As part of the celebrations of the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, the Khedive of Egypt built a new opera house in Cairo and approached Verdi about the composition of an inaugural ode. The composer declined somewhat haughtily, saying he was "not accustomed to compose occasional pieces".
Six months later, however, Verdi finally consented to write an opera specifically for Cairo, on an Egyptian theme. Camille Du Locle, a close friend since the days they had collaborated on Don Carlos in Paris, had sent him a scenario based on a synopsis written by Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist in the service of the Khedive.
The premiere in Cairo was originally scheduled for January 1871 but the French had not long before declared war on Prussia and the plans were put on hold. The wait was worthy, though, and the premiere was a resounding success.
This four-act tragic working of the famous tale of star-crossed lovers - the triumphant Egyptian captain Radames and the captured Ethiopian slave-girl, Aida - stormed the operatic world and remains one of the best-loved operas of all time.
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