Aïda Poster

Aïda (1871), Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of human passion and state power among people of different nations, became a staple of Western culture, bringing people across Europe into a common cultural orbit. Written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, Aïda also celebrated the improvement of Europe’s access to Asian resources provided by the new waterway. The opera was a prime example of the surge of interest in Egyptian styles and objects that followed the opening of the canal. (© Lordprice Collection / Alamy.)