Verdi: Aida - The complete Ballet Music

For the premiere of Aida on December 24, 1871 in Cairo, there were
no requirements for the design of the dance interludes, so Verdi probably
came closest to his ideal of linking the dances as directly as possible to
the action of the opera. The first of the three dance scenes, the sacred
dance of the priestesses, is characterised by a sacred, oriental-sounding
melody. The lively, cheerful theme of the dance of the little Moorish slaves (flute, oboe and clarinet in unison) resounds to the sound of triangle, timpani and cymbal beats. The Ballabile in the ensuing triumphal scene (extended by a Pas de trois to roughly double its length for the premiere at the Paris Opéra on March 22, 1880) is played by the full orchestra.