This work, which was produced at St. Petersburg in 1862, has
never been popular out of Italy, and 'Don Carlos,' which was written for
the Paris Exhibition of 1867, seems also to be practically laid upon the
shelf. It tells of the love of Don Carlos for his stepmother, Elizabeth,
the wife of Philip II. of Spain, and apart from the dulness of the
libretto, has the faults of a work of transition. Verdi's earlier manner
was beginning to lie heavily upon his shoulders, but he was not yet
strong enough to sever his connection with the past. There are scenes in
'Don Carlos' which foreshadow the truth and freedom of 'Aida,' but their
beauty is often marred by strange relapses into conventionality.
'Aida' (1871) was the result of a commission from Ismail Pacha, who
wished to enhance the reputation of his new opera-house at Cairo by the
production of a work upon an Egyptian subject from the pen of the most
popular composer of the day. The idea of the libretto seems to have been
originally due to Mariette Bey, the famous Egyptologist, who had
happened to light upon the story in the course of his researches. It was
first written in French prose by M. Camilla du Locle in collaboration
with Verdi himself, and afterwards translated by Signor Ghislanzoni.
Aida, the daughter of Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia, has been taken
prisoner by the Egyptians, and given as a slave to the princess Amneris.
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