Aida

Ancient Egypt is at war with Ethiopia. The young Egyptian captain Radamès hopes for a victorious end to the war and a future with his beloved Aida. But Aida is not simply a stranger in Radamès’ homeland; she is the Ethiopian princess taken hostage. Aida now serves as a slave to Amneris, daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh, who herself lays claim to Radamès’s love. Radamès faces a momentous decision between love and duty – one that will determine the fate of everyone involved.

The opera AIDA, which premiered in Cairo in 1871, is one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most impressive works and continues to captivate audiences today with its deeply personal story of love, power and sacrifice. Yet the grand Egyptian setting was not originally a matter close to the composer’s heart, but was imposed on him by his patrons: the Egyptian Viceroy Ismail Pasha wanted to celebrate the construction of the Suez Canal with a world premiere in an opera house built especially for the occasion, and to commission one of Europe’s leading artists to create an opera on "a grand scale" about Ancient Egypt. In 1869, Verdi initially declined a commission to write a hymn for the opening of the Suez Canal. It was only through the mediation of a French impresario that he was persuaded to compose a new opera. The basis for the "historically informed" libretto was created by the then celebrated Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, who also contributed to the opera’s later staging; it was subsequently adapted by the experienced librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni.

The opera’s genesis was, however, marked by external turbulence. While Verdi was working on AIDA, several conflicts were raging across Europe: the Franco-Prussian War influenced the political situation in both Italy and Egypt. The sets and costumes made in Paris could not be shipped in time because of the war, which considerably delayed the premiere. Verdi himself did not travel to the world premiere in Cairo in 1871. It was only at the Milan premiere that he was present in person, receiving 32 curtain calls.

Having last appeared at Theater Bonn with DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG in the 2024/25 season, director Aron Stiehl now turns his attention to this classic of the operatic repertoire.