Aida Tickets in Chicago

Aida is an opera based on the story of an Ethiopian princess who is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. Radames, a military commander has to choose between his loyalty to the Pharaoh or his love for her. The story is made even more complicated by the presence of Amneris, the Pharaoh’s daughter, who is in love with Radames but he does not share the same feelings. Aida is an opera by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. The opera is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette.

Verdi was commissioned to write the opera by Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt. The opera should have been performed in January 1871 but the premier was delayed because of the Franco-Prussian War. Aida was first performed in Cairo on December 24, 1871 and met with great acclaim but Verdi was not satisfied by the fact that the audience consisted of chosen dignitaries, politicians and critics and no member of the general public at all. The opera was then shown again at La Scala, Milan on February 8, 1872 which Verdi considered to be the real premier for the opera. Aida was performed by Teresa Stolz whose songs Verdi specifically wrote for her voice. Aida is 16th on Opera America’s list of the twenty most performed operas in North America.

There are also many adaptations to Verdi’s Aida. The opera’s story was used in the 1998 musical of the same name written by Elton John and Tim Rice. The opera has also been adapted several times in motion pictures including in the 1953 production and the 1987 Swedish production. Both productions featured actors lip-synching to recordings of the actual opera singers.

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