Aïda’s French premiere at the Opéra in 1880

Profio, Alessandro (2011) Aïda’s French premiere at the Opéra in 1880. Studia Musicologica, 52 (1-4). pp. 429-441. ISSN 1788-6244

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Abstract

Nine years after its creation in Cairo and eight after the European premiere at La Scala, Aida was produced at the Paris Opéra for the first time on 22 April 1880, in a French translation by Camille du Locle and Charles Nuitter. Verdi himself conducted the first performances. This significant derogation, that was refused to Wagner at the time of Tannhäuser (1861), was contrary to the performance traditions of the Opéra, and drew the attention of the habitués. The artistic ocurrence of the premiere became one of the more relevant society events of the year, and its political dimension determined the reception of the work. Verdi himself was conscious of the advantages and the disadvantages of this situation. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to refuse the proposition of the Opéra without causing a diplomatic incident. From the standpoint of the music, the critical reception, too, was oriented by political reflections about the “nation” and “national music.” The question, why did the Opéra open its doors to an Italian work, which kept distant from the French tradition, even though the original version had been translated and modified in some parts, emerged in a few writings. The paper will set the reception of the opera in an aesthetical context that the book by Gustave Bertrand, Les nationalités musicales étudiées dans le drame lyrique (Paris: Didier, 1872) had provided.

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