Aida Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera for performance to celebrate the opening of the Khedivial Opera House, paying him 150,000 francs, but the premiere was delayed because of the Siege of Paris (1870–71), during the Franco-Prussian War, when the scenery and costumes were stuck in the French capital, and Verdi's "Rigoletto" was performed instead. "Aida" eventually premiered in Cairo in late 1871. Contrary to popular belief, the opera was not written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for which Verdi
Suez Canal Company Société Générale was interested in his shares of the Suez Canal Company in exchange for paying off the debt installment, however, the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli responded quickly and with permission from parliament and Queen Victoria received a loan from Lionel de Rothschild in the amount of 4 million pounds to purchase the 177,000 shares from Ismail on behalf of the British government. This offer was slightly greater than the french offer, and Ismail physically delivered his share certificates to the British consulate. By December 1875 Britain became the largest shareholder of the Suez Canal Company, owning 44 percent