Giuseppe Verdi Verdi and Giuseppina decided to adopt Carlo's great-niece Filomena Maria Verdi, then seven years old, as their own child. She was to marry in 1878 the son of Verdi's friend and lawyer Angelo Carrara and her family became eventually the heirs of Verdi's estate. "Aida" was commissioned by the Egyptian government for the opera house built by the Khedive Isma'il Pasha to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The opera house actually opened with a production of "Rigoletto". The prose libretto in French by Camille du Locle, based on a scenario by the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, was
Suez Canal Authority all its assets and employees to the SCA established by this act. The head office is located in Ismaïlia. In Port Said the administration building of the earlier Suez Canal Company is used. Its board of directors comprises 14 persons, including the Chairman & Managing Director. Since nationalisation (1956–present): Before nationalisation, the owner was the "Suez Canal Company" (1858–1956): SCA owns the Suez Canal and all areas, buildings and equipment pertaining thereto. SCA issues the Rules of Navigation, fixes the tolls for the use of the canal and collects them. The tolls are expressed in XDR and collected in USD,