In 1836, Verdi married Margherita Barezzi, the daughter of his greatest benefactor, and completed his first opera,
Rocester. The music from this work only survives in the composer's next opera, Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio,
which opened at La Scala in 1839.

His next opera, Un Giorno di Regno (King for a Day), was a complete failure and resolved Verdi to cancel his La
Scala contract and give up music altogther. The manager of La Scala, Bartolomeo Merelli, persuaded him to persevere
and write his next opera -- Nabucodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar). This opera came to be called Nabucco and premiered
in 1842 to great acclaim. His next two operas -- I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade)
and Ernani -- secured Verdi's reputation as a major figure in the music world.

Between 1844 and 1850 Verdi composed at a tremendous rate. Luisa Miller in 1849 and Stiffelio in 1850 demonstrate
Verdi's maturing style and more flowing musical line During his "middle period" Verdi wrote three of his most
succesful operas: Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (1853), and La Traviata (1853).

In 1859, Verdi married his second wife, soprano Giuseppina Streponni. In that same year, Verdi wrote Un Ballo in
Maschera (A Masked Ball) which, like several of his other works, aroused the ire of the censors who objected to the
representation of a rebellion against a monarch. From 1861-65, after Napoleon III drove the Austrians from nothern
Italy, Verdi was elected to represent Busseto in the newly-formed Italian parliment. During this time he wrote La Forza
del Destino and Don Carlos.

In 1870, he accepted a commission to write an opera for the opening of the Suez Canal. The opera, Aida, premiered in
both Cairo and Milan in 1871. Following the success of Aida, Verdi retired to his estate Sant'Agnata. In 1875, the
death of the great Italian novelist and patriot, Alessandro Manzoni, moved Verdi to complete a requiem mass that had
originally been intended to honor his noted compatriot, Gioacchimo Rossini.

   Title: Aida

   What it is: Opera in four acts

   Length: 160'

   Why it's famous: "Celeste Aida"; "Ritorna vincitor";
     Grand March

   Where you heard it before: The Grand March is a
     compilation disc ever-present and frequent visitor to TV
     programmes.

     Known as Egypt's most famous opera, Aida is always associated with the opening of the Suez Canal, though it wasn't written or performed for that occasion. Set in ancient Egypt, it is a tale of love with a Greek-style tragic ending. Aida, captive daughter of Ethiopian king, falls for a warrior Radames, the new leader of the Egyptian Army, but has powerful rival in Princess Amneris. Radames brings back Aida's father as captive, and he forces his daughter to trick her lover into betraying military secrets. Amneris denounces Radames, who is sentenced to be buried alive in a pyramid, but Aida sneaks in and joins him; they die happy, while Amneris weeps outside.  The "Grand March" is a song of people in praise of their country.
 
The opening theme of the Grand March is very much like a fanfare, and is stated throughout the orchestra. It is very majestic and gives us the idea of a very regal song or a song of praise.  The main theme of the Grand March is first stated in the trumpet section.  Verdi then took the melody and passed it to the  strings and woodwind sections and modulated the theme to the dominant key.  Verdi then goes into a transition section, and finally returns to the opening theme, then the main theme and a final majestic ending.

The 'Aida' opera was orginally written for the opening of the Suez Canal, although it was never performed for that.  As you can see from the article above, the opera is now being performed in Egypt near the pyramids.

Click here to see an article about the performance of "Aida" at the pyramids.

Click here to listen to a midi file of the Grand March from Aida. You may import this midi file into Finale in order to view a score of the Grand March from "Aida". Click on the link, then select "Save File" in order to download it to your comptuer. This will enable you to view notation of the music as you listen to the excerpts that are above.

Click here to take a 10 question quiz on "Aida" and Verdi.