Aida

Ancient Egypt and the war with Ethiopia set the stage for Verdi’s grandest opera. It is the story of the love between the Egyptian general Rhadames and Ethiopian slave Aida, and the jealousy of Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt.

Aida was written in 1871 to a commission from the Khedive of Egypt in order to inaugurate the new opera house in Cairo. Aida is generally considered one of the most spectacular of Verdi’s operas, but Thomson Smillie, in his fascinating introduction to the work, says it is “a chamber opera with a grand march through the middle of it.” The historic background—how and why it came to be composed—is clearly explained, followed by the plot, the characters, and the principal arias and musical moments—a perfect way of getting to know the work.