Īida met with great acclaim when it finally opened in Cairo on 24 December 1871. This overture, never used today, was given a rare broadcast performance by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra on 30 March 1940, but was never commercially issued. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its-his own words-"pretentious silliness". He then composed an overture of the " potpourri" variety to replace the original prelude.
#Aida victory march full#
Verdi originally chose to write a brief orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. Radamès (Giuseppe Fancelli) and Aida ( Teresa Stolz) in act 4, scene 2 of the 1872 La Scala European première (drawing by Leopoldo Metlicovitz) Performance history Cairo premiere and initial success in Italy The plot bears striking, though unintentional, similarities to Metastasio's libretto La Nitteti (1756). Instead music by Jacques Offenbach was performed at the inauguration. Contrary to popular belief, the opera was not written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for which Verdi had been invited to write an inaugural hymn, but had declined. Aida eventually premiered in Cairo in late 1871. The premiere was delayed because of the Siege of Paris (1870–71), during the Franco-Prussian War, when the scenery and costumes were stuck in the French capital, and Verdi's Rigoletto was performed instead. Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera for performance to celebrate the opening of the Khedivial Opera House, paying him 150,000 francs. 2.1 Cairo premiere and initial success in ItalyĮlements of the opera's genesis and sources.1 Elements of the opera's genesis and sources.
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