First performed in Cairo, this Verdi opera was commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt
It was commissioned in 1868 by a Turkish Albanian potentate, ... 
the first things that Said's successor, the young Khedive (viceroy) Ismail, ... 
conspired to bring the European takeover of Egypt and Aida played... [DOC] [TLE] Ahram Online - In pictures: Verdi's Opera Aida at the Cairo Opera ... [PAR] One of the most popular operatic works performed in Egypt, Verdi's Aida, ... 
Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, commissioned by the Khedive Ismail Pasha.