Aida was based on a French text by Camille du Locle, taken from a scenario by Auguste Mariette.
Dec. 24, 1871 at the Cairo Opera House in Cairo, Egypt.
The critics were mixed in their reactions to Aida but audience reaction was strong from the start. Aida was a hit from its premiere and remains one of Verdi's most popular operas.
It is often mistakenly believed that Aida was written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, which took place in 1869.
Verdi's librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni had worked with Verdi before, helping him revise La forza del destino (premiered 1862, revised version 1869).
The premiere of Aida was delayed as sets and costumes were trapped in the besieged Paris during the Franco-Prussian war.
The opening night of Aida was the first that Verdi didn't personally attend.
Despite having written proficiently during his early career, Verdi took 16 years off between Aida and his next opera, Otello (1887). He wrote his final opera, Falstaff, in 1893.
Aida has long been a stadium favourite, performed in open-air spaces around the world, in productions complete with caged wild animals in the triumphal scene in Act II. The drama has often suffered.