Auguste Mariette

also Auguste Mariette Bey, François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette

1821–1881 · French

Birthplace: Boulogne-sur-Mer, Kingdom of France

Auguste Mariette was a French Egyptologist, who excavated the Serapeum at Memphis and founded the Egyptian antiquities service and the museum at Cairo. In 1869, at the Khedive's request, he wrote the brief plot from which Verdi's Aida grew, worked into a scenario by Camille du Locle, and with du Locle oversaw the scenery and costumes, modelled on ancient Egyptian art. The siege of Paris trapped him there with them, delaying the premiere at Cairo until 24 December 1871. The plot's origin is disputed, one biographer of Verdi giving it to Temistocle Solera.

Works

Aida — Co-librettist

Written from

Wikipedia (2026) Auguste Mariette. (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
Wikipedia (2026) Aida. (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
'Mariette, Auguste Ferdinand François' (1911) in Encyclopædia Britannica. 11th edn, vol. 17. (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
Bibliothèque nationale de France (n.d.) Mariette, Auguste (1821-1881). Authority record. (Accessed: 19 October 2026).