An Original Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida is unusual in Verdi’s output for not being derived from a preexisting play, novel, or epic poem. Instead, its scenario was provided by Auguste Mariette, the French Egyptologist and founder of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, although its fundamental love-triangle structure is common to many operatic plots. Mariette, a member of the Egyptian department of the Musée de Louvre starting in 1849, traveled to Egypt and made several major archeological breakthroughs, ultimately uncovering the Serapeum and Avenue of the Sphinxes in Saqqara. He also published several scholarly volumes, including his Abydos of 1869, about the eponymous excavation site; Aperçu de l’Histoire d’Égypte (Survey of the History of Egypt) of 1874; and Les Mastabas de l’Ancien Empire (The Mastabas of the Old Kingdom) of 1885. (A “mastaba” is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb.)

Although Mariette is known to have contributed to the plot of Aida, experts have debated the precise nature—and scale—of that contribution. Charles Osborne, for example, many decades ago suggested that Mariette was inspired by the work of his own brother, Edouard Mariette, who was drafting a novel based on ancient Egyptian legends titled La Fiancée du Nil (The Bride of the Nile) at the time that he accompanied Auguste on an expedition to Egypt. He also noted similarities between the story of Aida and an earlier libretto by the Italian poet Metastasio called Nitteti.

Others have claimed that Mariette merely suggested the idea of the scenario to French impresario Camille du Locle, director of the Opéra-Comique in Paris, who more fully fleshed out the opera’s plot before presenting it to the composer. And there is still another competing theory regarding the authorship of Aida. Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that Italian composer and librettist Temistocle Solera was the story’s true author. Solera had previously collaborated with Verdi on several projects, namely the libretto for Nabucco (1842), as well as four other operas. The two had a falling out during the creation of Attila (1846) and never formally worked together again, yet Solera remained close to the scene of Aida’s genesis. When Verdi refused the offer from Khedive Isma’il Pasha to compose a work for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Solera accepted the commission and oversaw ensuing festivities. It is quite possible that, acknowledging his fraught relationship with Verdi, Solera crafted the scenario for Aida—which itself bears striking similarities to that of Nabucco—and entrusted Mariette to present it to the composer.

Compared to Verdi’s immensely complicated late works La Forza del Destino and Don Carlos, the structure of Aida is simple and direct, and almost classical. After reading and approving Mariette’s scenario, Verdi hired the poet Antonio Ghislanzoni to write the verse libretto, with whom he worked closely to direct revisions and oversee textual details. The composer even penned the text for the opera’s final duet, “O terra, addio.” The story is set “at the time of the Pharaohs” but approaches the historical setting freely and imprecisely. Likewise, Verdi did not try to incorporate any genuinely Egyptian music.  

Act I

Egypt, during the reign of the pharaohs.

At the royal palace in Memphis, the high priest Ramfis tells the warrior Radamès that Ethiopia is preparing another attack against Egypt. Radamès hopes to command the Egyptian army. He is in love with Aida, the Ethiopian slave of Princess Amneris, the King’s daughter, and he believes that victory in the war would enable him to free and marry her. But Amneris also loves Radamès and is jealous of Aida, whom she suspects of being her rival for Radamès’s affection. A messenger brings news that the Ethiopians are advancing. The King names Radamès to lead the army, and all prepare for war. Left alone, Aida is torn between her love for Radamès and loyalty to her native country, where her father, Amonasro, is king. In the temple of Vulcan, the priests consecrate Radamès to the service of the god Ptah. Ramfis orders Radamès to protect the homeland.

Act II

Ethiopia has been defeated, and in her chambers, Amneris waits for the triumphant return of Radamès. Alone with Aida, she pretends that Radamès has fallen in battle, then says that he is still alive. Aida’s reactions leave no doubt that she loves Radamès. Amneris is certain that she will defeat her rival. At the city gates, the King and Amneris observe the victory celebrations and praise Radamès’s triumph. Soldiers lead in the captured Ethiopians, among them Amonasro, who signals his daughter not to reveal his identity as king. Amonasro’s eloquent plea for mercy impresses Radamès, and the warrior asks that the order for the prisoners to be executed be overruled and that they be freed instead. The King grants his request but keeps Amonasro in custody. He declares that as a victor’s reward, Radamès will have Amneris’s hand in marriage.

Act III

On the eve of Amneris’s wedding, she and Ramfis pray in a temple on the banks of the Nile. Nearby, Aida is waiting for Radamès, lost in thoughts of her homeland. Suddenly, Amonasro appears. Appealing to Aida’s sense of duty, he makes her promise to discover from Radamès which route the Egyptian army will take to invade Ethiopia. Amonasro hides as Radamès arrives. He and Aida dream about their future life together, and Aida convinces him to run away with her. Aida asks him about his army’s route, and just as he reveals the secret, Amonasro emerges from his hiding place. Realizing what he has done, Radamès is horrified. Aida and Amonasro try to calm him when Ramfis and Amneris emerge from the temple. Father and daughter are able to escape, but Radamès surrenders himself to the high priest’s guards.

Act IV

Radamès awaits trial as a traitor, believing Aida to be dead. Amneris summons him, but even after he learns that Aida has survived, he rejects Amneris’s offer to save him if he gives up his lover. Brought before the priests, Radamès refuses to answer their accusations, and they condem him to be buried alive. Amneris begs for mercy, but the judges do not change their sentence. Aida hides in the vault to share Radamès’s fate. They express their love for the last time while Amneris, in the temple above, prays for peace. 

1798
French military general Napoleon Bonaparte lands in Egypt on July 1. In addition to troops, he brings more than 150 civilian scientists, engineers, and scholars, thus launching the modern field of Egyptology.

1813
Giuseppe Verdi is born on October 9 in a small village near Busseto, a market town in the province of Parma. His father and mother are both tradespeople— an innkeeper and an innkeeper’s daughter, respectively.

1824
Antonio Ghislanzoni is born on November 25 in Lecco, Lombardy, in northern Italy.

1853
Two of Verdi’s most enduringly popular operas, Il Trovatore and La Traviata, premiere within two months of one another. By this point Verdi is widely acknowledged to be the leading Italian composer of his time, and he is courted by opera houses across Italy and Europe.

1858
The French archeologist and Egyptologist Auguste Mariette accepts a position as conservator of monuments for the Egyptian government. His experiences as a researcher and excavator in Egypt later aid him in developing the original story that Verdi will adapt as Aida.

1832
The young Verdi, a promising musician despite a patchy musical education, sits the entrance examination for the Milan Conservatoire; to everyone’s surprise, he is rejected. Undeterred, he decides to study privately in Milan.

1839
On November 17, Verdi’s first opera, Oberto, scores a modest success at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy’s most famous opera house. But success is bittersweet: Verdi’s infant son Icilio had died just weeks before. A few months later, while working on his second opera, a comedy, Verdi’s first wife Margherita Barezzi falls ill and dies. The bereft composer is forced to continue working on the comic opera, but it flops miserably.

1842
Verdi finally scores a triumphant success with his biblical opera Nabucco, which premieres at La Scala on March 9. Among the cast is soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, who eventually becomes the composer’s second wife. Verdi works tirelessly over the next decade, writing at least one opera per year. He will later refer to this period as his “anni di galera,” or “galley years.”

1861
At the culmination of a decades-long project of Italian nationalism known as the Risorgimento, the various independent states on the Italian peninsula are unified into a single Kingdom of Italy. In 1871, the only holdout—the Papal States, ruled by the pope from the city of Rome—is defeated and incorporated into the new country.

1869
The Khedive of Egypt Isma’il Pasha inaugurates the opening of the Suez Canal, after attempting—unsuccessfully—to enlist Verdi to compose a hymn for the occasion. Built in conjunction with the canal, the brand-new Khedivial Opera House in Cairo—the first on the African continent—opens on November 1 with Verdi’s Rigoletto. Isma’il subsequently approaches Verdi to commission a grand opera to premiere at the new opera house. Verdi accepts after demanding 150,000 francs as payment, four times his fee for Don Carlos.

1871
Aida is scheduled to premiere in January, but the onset of the Franco-Prussian war delays the delivery of Mariette’s costumes and sets from Paris. The opera finally premieres at the Khedivial Opera House on Christmas Eve to tremendous acclaim.

1872
Aida has its European premiere at La Scala on February 8, again receiving strong praise from audiences and critics. Verdi considers this performance the opera’s true premiere, given that the public was excluded from the Cairo premiere.

1887
Otello, Verdi’s first new opera in more than 15 years, premieres on February 15 at La Scala. The premiere is an international event, attended by critics and luminaries from around the world, and the opera is immediately hailed as a masterpiece.

1893
Verdi, now 80 years old, astonishes the world once more with another Shakespearean opera, Falstaff.

1901
Verdi dies in Milan on January 27 following a stroke. He is buried alongside his wife Giuseppina, who died four years earlier. A month later, Verdi and his wife are reburied in the newly completed retirement home Verdi founded for musicians. A colossal crowd of 300,000 people line the streets, and an 800-strong choir sings the chorus “Va pensiero” from Nabucco—the opera that launched Verdi’s triumphant career more than half a century ago.