Operas by Gioachino Rossini

La scala di seta (1812) Tancredi (1813) L'italiana in Algeri (1813) Il Signor Bruschino (1813) Il turco in Italia (1814) Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815) The Barber of Seville (1816) La gazzetta (1816) Otello (1816) La Cenerentola ( 1817) La gazza ladra (1817) Adelaide di Borgogna (1817) Mosè in Egitto (1818) Ermione (1819) La donna del lago (1819) Matilde di Shabran (1821) Semiramide (1823) Il viaggio a Reims (1825) Le siège de Corinthe (1826) Moïse et Pharaon ( 1827) Le comte Ory (1828) Guillaume Tell ( 1829) Gioachino Rossini. ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Gioacchino Rossini ... La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) is a comic opera in one act by Gioacchino Rossini. ... Tancredi is an opera in two acts by composer Gioacchino Rossini and librettist Luigi Lechi, based on Voltaires play Tancrède (1759). ... Il Signor Bruschino (or Il figlio per azzardo) is a one act operatic farce (farsa giocosa per musica) by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Foppa, based upon the play Le fils par hasard, ou ruse et folie by Alissan de Chazet and E.T.M. Ourry. ... A seductive Turk visits Italy to discover European customs. ... Elisabetta, regina dInghilterra, (Elizabeth, Queen of England) is a dramma per musica or opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, from a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, from the play The Page of Leicester by Carlo Federici. ... The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto (based on Beaumarchaiss comedy Le Barbier de Séville) by Cesare Sterbini. ... La Gazzetta is a comic opera by Gioacchino Antonio Rossini, satirising the influence of newspapers on peoples lives. ... Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioacchino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeares play Othello. ... La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso by Gioacchino Rossini. ... La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is an opera by Gioacchino Rossini. ... Adelaide di Borgogna or Ottone, re dItalia is an opera attributed to Gioacchino Rossini. ... Mosè Egitto is a three part opera on the Exodus from Egypt of the Israelites, led by Moses. ... Ermione is a tragic opera (azione tragica) in two acts by Gioacchino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play Andromaque by Jean Racine. ... La donna del lago (The Lady of the Lake) is an opera by Gioacchino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Totola, based on a poem by Sir Walter Scott. ... Matilde di Shabran (1821), ossia Bellezza, e cuor di ferro (Matilde of Shabran, or Beauty with a Heart of Iron), is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Jacopo Ferretti after François-Benoît Hoffman’s libretto for Méhul’s Euphrosine (1790... Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioacchino Rossini. ... Il viaggio a Reims, ossia Lalbergo del giglio doro (The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Lily) is an operatic dramma giocoso in one act by Gioacchino Rossini to an French libretto by Luigi Balocchi, based in part on Corinne, ou LItalie by Mme... Le Siège de Corinthe (The Siege of Corinth) is an opera in three acts by Gioacchino Rossini to a French libretto by Luigi Balocchi and Alexandre Soumet, based on Maometto II by Cesare della Valle. ... Design for the décor of Act I for Moïse et Pharaon at the Théâtre de lAcadémie Royale de Musique. ... Le comte Ory is a comic opera written by Gioacchino Rossini in 1828. ... Guillaume Tell (William Tell) is an opera in four acts by Gioacchino Rossini to a French libretto by Etienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis, based on Friedrich Schillers Wilhelm Tell. ...

L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. First performance: Teatro San Benedetto, Venice on May 22, 1813. This article is about Opera, the art form. ... Dramma giocoso (Italian: comical drama; plural: drammi giocosi) is the name of a genre of comic operas with its origins in the mid-18th century. ... Gioachino Rossini. ... Antonio Ghislanzoni, nineteenth century Italian librettist. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ...

There are a several recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed.

Rossini composed the L'Italiana in Algeri when he was 21. The opera was composed in either 18 or 27 days, depending on which source one believes (Rossini, not surprisingly, pegged it at 18). It was a notable success and he made progressive changes to the work for later performances in Vicenza, Milan and Naples, during the following two years. The opera is notable for Rossini's mixing of opera seria style in opera buffa. Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and serious style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1720s to ca 1770. ... Opera buffa (a form of comic opera), also known as Commedia in musica or Commedia per musica, is a genre of opera. ...

Characters

• Principal roles
  • Mustafà - Bass
  • Elvira - Soprano
  • Lindoro - Tenor
  • Isabella - Contralto
• Minor roles
  • Zulma - Mezzo-soprano
  • Haly - Bass
  • Taddeo - Bass
• Other
  • Harem women - Mute
  • Eunuchs, pirates, slaves, sailors - Male chorus

A basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. ... This article is about the singing voice part. ... This article is about Tenor vocalists in music. ... In music, an alto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a soprano. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that...

Synopsis

L'italiana in Algeri(DG) conducted by Claudio Abbado
(September 13,1989 Released)

Act 1 Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Claudio Abbado (born June 26, 1933) is a noted Italian conductor. ...

In the palace of the Bey of Algiers. Elvira (soprano), accompanied by her slave Zulma (mezzo), regrets the loss of the love of her husband, the Turkish Bey Mustafà (bass), while he is exasperated by her persistence. Left alone with Haly (bass), Captain of the Corsairs, Mustafà reveals his plan to marry Elvira off to Lindoro, his Italian slave. The Bey is bored with his submissive harem, desiring a new challenge to his virility: he wants an Italian girl! Haly must find one! Lindoro (tenor) enters alone and sings about Isabella, his true love, 'Languir per un bella'. Mustafà comes in to explain about Lindoro's impending marriage. The enthusiastic Bey describes the attractions of the match, while Lindoro struggles to refuse. Bey is originally a Turkish[1][2] word for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. ... “Alger” redirects here. ... This article is about the singing voice part. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... A bass (or basso in Italian) is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range of the human voice. ... Look up corsair in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Coming from the Arab tradition, the harîm حريم (compare haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. ... This article is about Tenor vocalists in music. ...

The scene changes to the seashore where a ship has been wrecked in a storm. Its passengers include Isabella (contralto), in search of Lindoro, and Taddeo (bass), her travelling companion and would-be lover. Isabella enters with a sorrowful cavatina 'Cruda sorte! Amor tiranno!', however she is not afraid and will master the situation. Haly and his men take them prisoner. She passes off Taddeo as her uncle. Haly is delighted to learn she is an Italian! Exactly what the Bey wanted! Left to consider their fate, Isabella is irritated by Taddeo's jealousy of Lindoro, but they resolve to join forces. In music, an alto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a soprano. ... For the piece of music known as Cavatina or Theme from The Deer Hunter, see Cavatina (song) Cavatina (Italian diminutive of cavata, the producing of tone from an instrument, plural cavatine) is a musical term, originally a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of...

Back in the palace, Lindoro and Elvira do not wish to marry, but Mustafà offers Lindoro passage on a ship returning to Italy - if he takes Elvira. Lindoro agrees, admitting a vague possibility of marrying her in Italy. Haly enters with news of the arrival of the Italian beauty. Mustafà is elated, 'Già d'insolito ardore nel petto agitare'.

Surrounded by eunuchs, Mustafà receives Isabella in a grand hall. He is enchanted. At that moment, Lindoro, Elvira and Zulma arrive to say goodbye to Mustafà. Lindoro and Isabella are astonished to come face to face. Recovering herself, Isabella asks about Elvira, learning she is Mustafà's ex-wife, to be remarried to Lindoro!

Act 2

In the palace. Elvira and Zulma (who have remained in Algiers after all) note Isabella's skill with men. Mustafà reveals his strategy. Lindoro is now installed as Isabella's servant and his informer, Taddeo will also be induced to help. Elvira and Zulma must tell Isabella he is coming to take coffee with her! For the several U.S. counties named Coffee, see Coffee County. ...

Isabella and Lindoro are alone. He explains that he had no intention of marrying Elvira. They agree to escape together and Lindoro sings of his happiness, 'Ah come il cor di giubilo'. Mustafà enters with a reluctant Taddeo, acclaimed by the Turks as 'Lord Kaimakan'. He dislikes interceding with Isabella for the Bey, but is frightened to refuse.

In her apartment, Isabella is dressing in Turkish style. Zulma and Elvira deliver Mustafà's message: he is coming for coffee. Isabella orders three cups. Elvira should wait in a side room. As Mustafà approaches, Isabella sings a romantic cavatina, 'Per lui che adoro'. She will receive him. Mustafà tells Taddeo to leave when he sneezes. Isabella greets Mustafà warmly and he sneezes, but Taddeo ignores the signal. Isabella calls for coffee and then - to Mustafà's horror and amazement - invites Elvira to join them.

Elsewhere in the palace, Haly sings in praise of the women of Italy, 'Le femmine d'Italia'. The Italians enter and Taddeo reveals to a surprised Lindoro that he is not her uncle but her lover, himself unaware of the other man's true identity. Lindoro tells Mustafà that Isabella will declare him her adored 'pappataci' [literally a 'silent eater': a man unable to resist the opposite sex]. This, as Lindoro explains, is an Italian custom and a great honour, as the 'pappataci' enjoy an idyllic life dedicated to eating, drinking and sleeping. Zulma and Haly speculate about Isabella's real intentions and the quantity of alcohol ordered for the ceremony.

In her apartment, Isabella addresses the Italian slaves who will be 'pappataci' in the ceremony. She will lead them to freedom, 'Pensa all patria'. The ceremony begins, Mustafà is delighted with his new honour and changes into appropriate costume. Isabella explains his obligations. He must swear an oath of eating, drinking, and keeping silent, repeating the words after Taddeo. Following that his oath is tested, under provocation by Isabella and Lindoro.

A European ship lies alongside the palace: time to escape! Taddeo finally realizes who Lindoro is, but decides to go along with them anyway. Elvira, Zulma and Haly find the Bey still acting as a mad 'pappataci'. Suddenly recovering his sanity, Mustafà calls his troops but they are all drunk. The Italians bid farewell and Mustafà begs Elvira's forgiveness. No more Italian girls for him!

[This synopsis by Simon Holledge was first published on Opera japonica http://www.operajaponica.org and appears here by permission.]

Libretto (italiano soltanto) Recording (MP3 Creative Commons)

Selected recordings