Ezio's act 2 aria of heroic resolution "È gettata la mia sorte" (My lot is cast, I am prepared for any warfare) is a fine example of a characteristic Verdian genre, and it achieved fame in its own time with audiences in the context of the adoption of a liberal constitution by Ferdinand II.

[2] A letter to Francesco Maria Piave (with whom he had worked on both Ernani and I due Foscari) had included the subject of Attila as opera number 10 on a list of nine other possible projects,[3] and in that same letter, he encouraged Piave to read the play, which musicologist Julian Budden describes as having "sprung from the wilder shores of German literary romanticism [and which contains] all the Wagnerian apparatus – the Norns, Valhalla, the sword of Wodan [sic], the gods of light and the gods of darkness."

[6] No clear reason for this change seems to have emerged, except that Gabriele Baldini [it] speculates that, in returning to Solera, he was more comfortable working with a librettist who was more suited to "sketching epic sagas and historical-religious frescoes.

Then came the second blow: Solera left the project altogether and followed his opera singer wife to Madrid where he became director of the Royal Theatre,[7] leaving only the draft sketch of the third act.

As Budden notes, "the Italian public had taken Attila to their hearts" and he adds that a line sung by the Roman general Ezio in a duet – "Avrai tu l'universo, resta l'Italia a me" (You can have the universe, but leave Italy for me) – brought forth spontaneous cheers".

[10] After its world premiere in 1846 in Venice, the opera went on to be produced in all of the major Italian cities (plus Barcelona, Lisbon, and Trieste), a total of over 25 productions, including one in Palermo under the title of Gli Unni e I Romani in 1855.

[13] Throughout that decade Ramey "unquestionably rack[ed] up more performances in the role than any bass since its creator"[13] in houses such as La Fenice and San Francisco, finally making an audio recording in 1989, under Riccardo Muti.

The Royal Opera House premiered it on 13 October 1990, with Ruggero Raimondi in the title role, Josephine Barstow as Odabella, Giorgio Zancanaro as Ezio, Dennis O'Neill as Foresto, with Edward Downes conducting.

[14] San Francisco Opera presented Attila on 21 November 1991, with Samuel Ramey in the title role, Elizabeth Connell as Odabella, Vladimir Chernov and Luis Giron May alternating as Ezio, Antonio Ordonez as Foresto, with Gabriele Ferro conducting in a production by Lotfi Mansouri.

Ildar Abdrazakov sang the title role, with Violeta Urmana as Odabella, Ramón Vargas as Foresto, Giovanni Meoni as Ezio, and Samuel Ramey as Leone.

After she leaves, the Roman envoy Ezio asks for an audience and proposes a division of the empire (Avrai tu l'universo, Resti l'Italia a me / "You may have the universe, but let Italy remain mine").

Recognizing the incognito Foresto among the bearers of an invitation to a banquet with Attila, he agrees to join forces with him (È gettata la mia sorte, son pronto ad ogni guerra / "My lot is cast, I am prepared for any warfare" ).

For Gabriele Baldini [it], Attila is "one of the weakest scores of the 'galley years'" and he references the contemporary critical viewpoint of Luigi Casamorata who wrote in the Gazzetta Musicale di Milano of 17 January 1847 that, with this opera, Verdi had reached the "apogee of cabalettism".

[20] Both Kimbell ("the sheer noisiness of Attila made it a bête noire of fastidious critics"[2] and Budden ("...the heaviest and noisiest of the Risorgimento operas, blunt in style, daubed in thick garish colours")[21] refer to some of least successful aspects of the work.

However, Parker states something to which the others would appear to agree: As with all of Verdi's early operas, there are impressive individual moments, particularly in those grand ensemble movements that constantly inspired the composer to redefine and hone his dramatic language.