Aida (Italian: [aˈiːda]) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in Egypt, it was commissioned by and first performed at Cairo's Khedivial Opera House on 24 December 1871; Giovanni Bottesini conducted after Verdi himself withdrew. 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.
Librettist | Antonio Ghislanzoni (Based on a scenario often attributed to to French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette) |
Date of composition | 1871 (1870-1871) |
Premiered | 1871, December 24th in Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt |
Type | Opera |
Approx. duration | 145 minutes |
Spoken language | Italian |
Instruments |
Voice (Soprano)
- Aida, principessa etiope (an Ethiopian princess)
Voice (Bass) - Il Re d'Egitto, padre di Amneris (The King of Egypt and Amneris's father) Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Amneris, figlia del Faraone (daughter of the King) Voice (Tenor) - Radamès, capitano delle Guardie (Captain of the Guard) Voice (Baritone) - Amonasro, Re dell'Etiopia e padre di Aida (King of Ethiopia anf Aida's father) Voice (Bass) - Ramfis, Gran Sacerdote (high Priest) Voice (Tenor) - Un messaggero (A messenger) Voice (Soprano) - Una sacerdotessa (Voice of the High Priestess) Chorus/Choir - Sacerdoti, sacerdotesse, ministri, capitani, soldati, ufficiali, schiavi e prigionieri etiopi, popolo egizio (Priests, priestesses, ministers, captains, soldiers, officials, Ethiopians, slaves and prisoners, Egyptians) Orchestra |
Arrangements |
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Franz Liszt: Danza sacra e duetto finale d’Aida, S. 436
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In listings |
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Famous Works
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Autotranslations beta |
Giuseppe Verdi: Aida Giuseppe Verdi: Aida Giuseppe Verdi: Aida |