Is the opera Aida historically correct?
Look at Aida and Nine Readings by Ralph P. Locke, you'll find
the article in the 2006 edition of Nineteenth Century Music
Reviews. He gives views on the answer to this question. I think it
is quite correct but maybe a little biased as Verdi is an Italian
patriot and in the opera, ancient Egypt is analogic to
Austro-Hungary and Napoleonic France, two imperial countries that
took over Italy ( which can be compared to the Ethiopia in
'Aida').