Editing Aida (section)

===Cairo premiere and initial success in Italy===
[[File:Leopoldo Metlicovitz - Aida- Act IV Scene 2.jpg|thumb|Radamès (Giuseppe Fancelli) and Aida ([[Teresa Stolz]]) in act 4, scene 2 of the 1872 [[La Scala]] European première (drawing by [[Leopoldo Metlicovitz]])]]
Verdi originally chose to write a brief orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. He then composed an overture of the "[[potpourri (music)|potpourri]]" variety to replace the original prelude. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its—his own words—"pretentious silliness".{{sfn|Toscanini|2002|p=366}} 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.{{sfn|Frank|2002|p=55}}

''Aida'' met with great acclaim when it finally opened in Cairo on 24 December 1871. The costumes and accessories for the première were designed by [[Auguste Mariette]], who also oversaw the design and construction of the sets, which were made in Paris by the [[Paris Opera|Opéra]]'s scene painters Auguste-Alfred Rubé and [[Philippe Chaperon]] (acts 1 and 4) and [[Édouard Desplechin]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Lavastre]] (acts 2 and 3), and shipped to Cairo.<ref>Auguste Mariette to Paul Draneht (General Manager of the Cairo Opera House), Paris, 28 September 1871. (Translated and annotated), {{harvnb|Busch|1978|pp=224–225}}.</ref> Although Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, he was most dissatisfied with the fact that the audience consisted of invited dignitaries, politicians and critics, but no members of the general public.<ref>The Cairo Opera House could only hold 850 spectators {{harv|Pitt|Hassan|1992|p=682}}.</ref> He therefore considered the Italian (and European) première, held at [[La Scala]], [[Milan]] on 8 February 1872, and a performance in which he was heavily involved at every stage, to be its ''real'' première.

Verdi had also written the role of Aida for the voice of [[Teresa Stolz]], who sang it for the first time at the Milan première. Verdi had asked her fiancé, [[Angelo Mariani (conductor)|Angelo Mariani]], to conduct the Cairo première, but he declined, so [[Giovanni Bottesini]] filled the gap. The Milan [[#Amneris|Amneris]], [[Maria Waldmann]], was his favourite in the role and she repeated it a number of times at his request.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.questia-online-library.com/read/98196653?title=Notes |title=Verdi's ''Falstaff'' in Letters and Contemporary Reviews |access-date=2009-02-25 |archive-date=2020-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322202127/http://questia-online-library.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Aida'' was received with great enthusiasm at its Milan première. The opera was soon mounted at major opera houses throughout Italy, including the [[Teatro Regio (Parma)|Teatro Regio di Parma]] (20 April 1872), the [[Teatro di San Carlo]] (30 March 1873), [[La Fenice]] (11 June 1873), the [[Teatro Regio (Turin)|Teatro Regio di Torino]] (26 December 1874), the [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]] (30 September 1877, with [[Giuseppina Pasqua]] as Amneris and Franco Novara as the King), and the [[Teatro dell'Opera di Roma|Teatro Costanzi]] (8 October 1881, with [[Theresia Singer]] as Aida and [[Giulia Novelli]] as Amneris) among others.<ref name="amadeus">{{Almanacco|match=Aida|label=Aida performance history}}</ref>