L'Italiana in Algeri (Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series)

L’Italiana in Algeri

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L’Italiana in Algeri “The Italian Girl in Algiers” Dramma giocoso, “humorous drama” in Italian in two acts Music by Gioacchino Rossini Libretto: substantially adapted from Angelo Anelli’s libretto for Luigi Mosca’s earlier opera, L’Italiana in Algeri (1808). Premiere: Venice, Teatro San Benedetto, 1813.

Adapted from the Opera Journeys Lecture Series by Burton D. Fisher

Story Synopsis Principal Characters in the Opera Story Narrative with Music Highlights Rossini and L’Italiana in Algeri

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Story Synopsis Mustafà, the Bey of Algiers, has tired of his wife, Elvira: he commands his captain, Ali, to find an immediate replacement for her. Simultaneously, he orders Lindoro, an Italian recently captured and enslaved, to marry Elvira and leave Algiers. A storm causes a shipwreck, and among the prisoners is Isabella, accompanied by a suitor, Taddeo. Isabella is in search of her long lost lover, Lindoro. Isabella is brought to Mustafà: he immediately falls in love with her, envisioning her as the beautiful replacement of Elvira. Isabella is determined to escape from Algiers and rescue her beloved Lindoro. She initiates Mustafà into a secret society: the Pappatacci, its most important ritual that its members, in order to be model husbands, must “Eat and be silent.” While Mustafà dutifully abides by his Pappatacci oath, Isabella and Lindoro escape. Mustafà realizes that he has been deceived, but the experience awakens him: he renounces the resourcefulness of Italian women, and takes Elvira back as his wife, begging her forgiveness. The story concludes with a moral: A good woman is always going to have her way, so men must accept it. Principal Characters in the Opera Mustafà, Bey of Algiers Bass Elvira, wife of Mustafà Soprano Lindoro, an Italian slave of Mustafà Tenor Isabella, a young Italian lady Soprano Zulma, slave, confidante, and lady-in-waiting to Elvira Mezzo-Soprano Ali, (or Haly) Captain of the Algerian pirates Bass Taddeo, companion of Isabella Bass Eunuchs, Algerian pirates, Italian slaves, and women of the harem. TIME AND PLACE: Early 19th century. Algiers, in Algeria, the Barbary coast of North Africa.

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Story Narrative with Music Highlights Act 1 – Scene 1: The palace of Mustafà, the Bey of Algiers. Elvira, the Bey’s Italian wife, tells a group of eunuchs that her husband has become bored with her: he has denounced her and has commanded her to leave Algiers. Zulma, her lady-in-waiting, together with the court eunuchs, express sympathy for her anguish and try to console her, urging her to have courage and not yield to despair. Elvira swears that she would do anything to have her honor and dignity restored, but most of all, return to Mustafà’s good graces. Mustafà and his entourage arrive: he is heedless to Elvira’s pleas and arrogantly confirms his might and power; nothing can dissuade him from his decision to abandon Elvira. Delle donne l’arroganza,

Mustafà dismisses all except Ali, the Captain of his pirates, reiterating to him that Elvira bores him to death. He has decided to free the handsome young Italian slave, Lindoro: he shall become Elvira’s new husband, and he will ship both to Italy. Mustafà, finding all the women in his harem capricious and unsatisfying, seeks another woman – an Italian woman - to satisfy his lust and fancy. He orders Ali to find him a replacement for Elvira, allowing him six days to find a suitable substitute; if he fails, he will be impaled. Meanwhile, the enslaved Lindoro despairs, longing for home as well as his beloved Isabella. Languir per una bella,

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Mustafà briskly interrupts the lamenting Lindoro to inform him that he has arranged his marriage and his freedom, assuring him that his new wife is the soul-mate he has yearned for; a dazzling and astounding woman. Mustafà proceeds to describe the attributes of this rare, perfect woman: she has money, grace, charm, beauty, and is a tender woman with loving passion; she possesses beautiful eyes, a magnificent complexion, and has a slender figure. Lindoro, who has just lamented his lost love, becomes perplexed and confounded, telling Mustafà that this new wife could never possess his heart. In a rollicking interchange, both men trade opinions on the desirability of the proposed match. Duet: Se inclinassi a prender moglie,

Act I – Scene 2: The seashore. During a storm, a ship is stranded off the coast. Ali and his pirates capture the survivors and bring them to land. They praise their booty: hearty Italian slaves, and beautiful women. Among them is the exceptionally beautiful Isabella whom Ali immediately envisions as a perfect gift for his lecherous master; the replacement he seeks for Elvira.. Isabella is accompanied by Taddeo, her traveling companion and infatuated admirer. She has come to Algiers to find and rescue her beloved Lindoro, abducted by the Algerian pirates: she mourns her misfortune in becoming shipwrecked. Cruda sorte!

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Isabella is a woman possessing courage and resourcefulness: she expresses her determination to overcome her dilemma; now she has become the victim of men, but she will use her wiles to tame and vanquish them. While Isabella affirms to Taddeo that she is fearless and resolved to escape from their captivity, they are confronted by Ali and his pirates who plan to seize and enslave Taddeo. Isabella intervenes, telling them that Taddeo cannot leave her side because he is her uncle and protector. Ali decides to bring them both to the Bey, confident that he will be providing his master with the brightest new star in his harem. Isabella, now alone with Taddeo, expresses her confidence and resolve: if she is forced to become the Bey’s mistress, she will find a way to surmount her dilemma. At the same time, she rebukes the lustful Taddeo, rejecting him and ordering him to stop his amorous advances toward her: he indeed knows that she has but one passion; her beloved Lindoro. Taddeo laments his bad fortune: in the end, he has become merely Isabella’s protective “uncle,” and now a captive slave fated to end his life inside a harem. Duet: Ai capricci della sorte

Nevertheless, Isabella and Taddeo decide to unite: they will become allies rather than fight amongst each other, Isabella assuring the worrying Taddeo that with his trust and faith in her, she will find a way out of their predicament. Act I – Scene 3: A hall in Mustafà’s palace Zulma, acting as an intermediary between Elvira and Lindoro, is confused and bewildered because Lindoro refuses to marry the charming Elvira, and likewise, Elvira refuses to marry this handsome young man. Elvira expresses her resolve: although Mustafà

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has spurned her, she is determined to remain his wife. Mustafà arrives and announces the wonderful news that an Italian ship has propitiously arrived in the harbor, and Lindoro can board the ship in freedom, as long as Elvira accompanies him. Despondently, Lindoro contemplates his misfortune: he must marry Elvira to achieve freedom, and at the same time, he will no longer be free to marry his real beloved, Isabella. Ali arouses Mustafà’s excitement by informing him that they have captured a beautiful Italian girl, describing her as the woman he has longed for, and the perfect replacement for his wife. With arrogant pride, Mustafà gloats as he anticipates meeting the signorina, a new conquest that will contribute to his fame. He commands Ali to immediately bring him the rare Italian beauty. Già d’insolito ardore

Zulma is perplexed and bewildered, unable to understand how Elvira can still love Mustafà after he heartlessly decreed her banishment: Elvira confirms that she loves him in spite of his cruelty and unkindness. Lindoro announces that their ship is ready to sail. Elvira sighs in sorrow, but Lindoro advises her not to fret, assuring her that in Italy she will find a host of young admirers, men who will adore her beyond her wildest dreams.

Act I – Scene 4: A magnificent hall in Mustafà’s palace Mustafà is seated royally as he awaits the presentation of the Italian girl: he is surrounded by eunuchs and the women of his harem. The eunuchs wait impatiently and with expectation, relishing the

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opportunity to witness Mustafà revealing his great secrets: he will prove to them that he is indeed the great tamer of women. Ali presents Isabella: la bella Italiana, “The beautiful Italian girl.” Trio: O che muso,

Isabella observes this lecherous, hilarious dolt, and recoils in horror. Mustafà is immediately mesmerized, seduced, and enchanted by the beautiful Isabella, but even though crazed with lust, he decides to behave with dignity: he will be calm, reserved, self-possessed, and indifferent. Isabella, with craft and cunning, launches her plan to defeat the vulnerable Mustafà. She tells him that she is poor, unhappy, weak, helpless, and desperately in need of his protection: he alone can console her bleeding heart. Mustafà yields to Isabella’s enchantment, becoming ensnared by her wiles, and losing all of his will power. Taddeo intrudes to announce that as Isabella’s uncle, he must remain with her. Irritated and annoyed, Mustafà orders Taddeo impaled at once. However, Isabella intervenes, and seductively charms the Bey into revoking his order to execute Taddeo. Elvira, Lindoro, and Zulma, arrive to say their farewells, flattering Mustafà and telling him that their parting fills them with emotion and devotion: they will always remember his kindness. Isabella is stunned to see Lindoro. Likewise, Mustafà is mystified as he watches the long-lost lovers, who, with suppressed ardor, express delight, yet their confusion and frustration. Isabella is told that Elvira is Mustafà’s former wife, the woman he no longer wants and has abandoned, and that Mustafà has freed the slave, Lindoro, so he can marry Elvira. Isabella becomes appalled by the barbarity of their customs, telling Mustafà that he must change them, cunningly advising him that she could

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never love a man who treated his wife the way he has treated Elvira. Mustafà, seeking to please the woman whose love he now craves, concedes to Isabella: Elvira and Lindoro will remain, but acceding to Isabella’s wishes, he will assign Lindoro to become Isabella’s slave. The entire company erupts into agitated excitement: the omnipotent Mustafà has been tamed, but all suspect duplicity. In their confusion and bewilderment, they envision themselves sinking in a ship that is being tossed about in a stormy ocean.

Act II – Scene 1: A hall in the palace. The eunuchs muse about Mustafà’s defeat: he was once the great tamer of woman, but he has now transformed into a besotted lover, a victim of the clever Italian girl: Elvira is in disbelief; Ali is anxious but moved to laughter; and Zulma concludes that the Italian girl may yet reform Mustafà and ultimately teach him virtue. Mustafà arrives and commands the ladies to tell the signorina that he wishes to have coffee with her in her room. Mustafà is resigned to a new strategy: he will cater to Isabella’s womanly pride and then she will no longer resist him. All leave. Isabella arrives and rues her misfortune; imprisoned in a harem, and Lindoro, the man she loves, unfaithful and about to marry another. Lindoro appears, and the lovers are alone for the first time. Lindoro convinces Isabella that Mustafà forced this unfortunate fate upon him, however, he only promised to be Elvira’s escort, not her husband. Their love and faith is restored, and they plot their escape. Isabella convinces Lindoro to place his absolute trust in her ingenuity to devise a clever ruse to guarantee their freedom. Left alone, Lindoro expresses his joy and happiness: at last he and Isabella have become united; his suffering was not in vain, and now, fortune smiles upon him. Ah come il cor di giubilo

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Mustafà returns, followed by Taddeo, Ali, the eunuchs, and two moors who carry a turban, an enormous Turkish garment, and a saber. Taddeo begs Mustafà to be merciful and save him from the barbarians who are chasing him and want to impale him. Mustafà decides to use Isabella’s “uncle” to help him become ingratiated with his niece. He bestows upon Taddeo the title of Kaimakan, a luogotenènte, or lieutenant; Taddeo has become one of Mustafà’s bodyguards. Taddeo, fearful of his new duties, reluctantly accepts the honor and is congratulated by the eunuchs who bless him as their friend and protector. The Moors dress Taddeo in lavish Turkish clothes that include a large turban and saber. Taddeo finds the Turkish garments quite unbearable, but rather than complain, he decides to be prudent and avoid Mustafà’s anger, concluding that it is better to be a Kaimakan than be dead and buried. Ho un gran peso sulla testa

Taddeo goes off to perform his first duty, his survival dependent on convincing Isabella to be gracious to Mustafà.

Act II – Scene 2: Another part of the palace. Isabella stands before a large mirror as she dresses in Turkish attire. Elvira and Zulma advise Isabella that Mustafà wishes to join her for coffee. Isabella orders her slave, Lindoro, to bring 3 coffees, but Elvira cautions her that Mustafà will become enraged if Lindoro is present. Isabella tells them not to worry because she fears him not, and she will take full charge of the situation. Zulma and Elvira depart. As Isabella resumes dressing before the mirror.

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Mustafà, Taddeo, and Lindoro, secretly observe her, however, she is well aware of their presence and sings a love song, a song directed to her beloved Lindoro, that deceives Mustafà into believing that she sings about her love for him. Aside, Isabella vows revenge against Mustafà: in this battle of the sexes she will force him to surrender, and she will repay him for his cruelty. Ultimately, she is determined and resolved to rescue her beloved Lindoro. Per lui che adoro

Mustafà, after overhearing Isabella’s words of love, erupts into eager expectation. He orders Lindoro, and his new Kaimakan, Taddeo, to bring Isabella to him. Lindoro returns with Isabella, whispering to Mustafà confidentially that Isabella adores him, but that he should court her gently and graciously. Mustafà, anticipating a private moment with Isabella, orders Taddeo that when he sneezes, he is to leave immediately. Mustafà, Isabella, Taddeo, Lindoro, and Elvira, sing in a quintet, Ti presento di mia man: Mustafà presents Taddeo to Isabella as his Kaikaman; Lindoro points out to Mustafà that Isabella is beautifully attired, an obvious invitation for him to court her; and Isabella addresses Mustafà as mio caro, “my darling.” Immediately, Mustafà sneezes, his signal to Taddeo to leave, however, Taddeo misses his cue and remains, provoking Mustafà to seethe with anger and threaten him. Mustafà tries vainly to be alone with Isabella but two Moors arrive with coffee. Isabella invites Elvira to join them for coffee, her attempt to reconcile Elvira with her husband: coffee à deux has now become coffee à quatre. Frustrated, Mustafà explodes into anger, condemning all as traitors and swearing revenge because his plan to be intimate with Isabella has ended in chaos and confusion.

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Ali muses about the wiles of Italian women, predicting that in spite of Mustafà’s bravado, he will fail, unable to cope with the wily Isabella. Ali has traveled the world, concluding that Italian women are strikingly superior to all other women, far surpassing all the rest with their intelligence and charm. Le femmine d’Italia son disinvolte e scaltre,

Mustafà has become aggravated and annoyed at Isabella who has frustrated his initiatives, but Lindoro reassures him that Isabella indeed loves him very much. He advises Mustafà that Isabella has planned a splendid banquet to honor him and bequeath him into the order of Pappatacci, “Papa dummy,” literally, one who eats greedily and keeps silent. Lindoro explains that Pappatacci is a rare and very exalted title that cannot be inherited, and is bestowed as a unique tribute to a man who is so attractive to women, that they cannot cease their swooning and sighing. Lindoro explains the duties of a Pappatacci: its members lead a life devoted exclusively to eating, drinking, and sleeping, and they must vow to keep silent during whatever dramas play around them. Mustafà becomes delighted, flattered, and honored. The ‘Pappataci’ trio: Mustafà, Taddeo, and Lindoro

Isabella exhorts the Italian slaves, urging them to be brave and courageous, and not despair or be frightened: they must place their trust and faith in her, and in the end, they will be rescued and see their homeland.

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Rondo: Pensa alla patria

Isabella, alone with Lindoro, affirms her love for him: their love will give them courage, and they will succeed in escaping from Algiers. Mustafà anxiously awaits his initiation into the Pappatacci. The Pappatacci band arrives, the horn players resounding the call to begin the ceremony. Mustafà sincerely hopes that he will be worthy and be accepted into the order: if he succeeds, they will receive his gratitude. Isabella ceremoniously addresses Mustafà, assuring him that if he achieves the honored rank of Pappatacci, all the ladies will faint at his feet. Taddeo reads from a scroll, and Mustafà repeats his oath: Di veder e non veder. “What I see I shall not see.” Di sentir e non sentir. “What I hear I shall not hear.” Per mangiar e per goder. “While I eat and drink with glee.” Di lasciare fare e dir. “Letting nothing interfere.” Io qui giuro e poi scongiuro. “So I swear upon my honor.” Pappatacci Mustafa The chorus congratulates him that he has progressed well. Mustafà is ready for his final test. Giuro inoltre all’occasion. “While I drink and while I eat.”

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Di portar torcia e lampion. “I shall never leave my seat.” E se manco al giuramento. “I will do what I have sworn.” Più non abbia un pel sul mento. “Or my whiskers shall be shorn.” All celebrate Mustafà’s induction into the Pappatacci. Lindoro announces that it is time for dinner. Mustafà is ordered to start eating dinner and abide by the first rule of the exclusive order: just eat, drink, and ignore what is happening around him. Isabella tests Mustafà’s capacity for silence and flirts with Lindoro. Mustafà turns to anger but is reprimanded by Taddeo: he must keep his Pappatacci vows and eat, keep his eyes shut, and be silent. In the background, a ship appears at the port. While the Pappatacci ceremony proceeds, Isabella and Lindoro begin to leave. Taddeo betrays them and advises Mustafà that he has been tricked, however, Mustafà diligently abides by the Pappatacci rules and continues to eat and drink: What I see I shall not see. What I hear I shall not hear. So I swear upon my honor. Pappatacci Mustafà! Suddenly Mustafà realizes that the Italians have escaped and calls for his soldiers and eunuchs, but they are drunk and asleep. Mustafà concedes that Italian girls are too clever for him. He has learned his lesson and begs Elvira’s forgiveness, and promises to reinstate her as his wife. All the Algerians bid farewell and wish good fortune to Isabella, Lindoro, and the Italians. Isabella has been victorious. She rescued her lover, and taught Mustafà and the Algerians a profound lesson: a strong minded woman can never be defeated, and will always win and conquer.

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Rossini…………..........and L’Italiana in Algeri

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ioacchino Antonio Rossini, 1792 –1868, was the most important Italian opera composer during the first half of the nineteenth century: the primo ottocento. Rossini’s entire generation proclaimed him the undisputed king of opera composers, living or dead, and in the eyes of the Italian opera world, he was idolized and adored, towering significantly over Mozart, Gluck, or even Beethoven. Though Rossini is best known for his opera buffas, his comic and satiric operas, he also composed opera serias, operas with serious themes. Whatever the particular genre, all of his music contains a unique melodic inventiveness and rhythmic vitality, special features that became the inspiration to his illustrious contemporaries, Bellini and Donizetti, as well as the young Verdi. Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy. As a child, he displayed exceptional musical talent, which earned him entry into the Bologna Conservatory at the age of twelve. In 1810, at the age of eighteen, he wrote his first opera, La Cambiale di Matrimonio, “The Marriage Contract,” but his first substantial success occurred two years later with his opera, La Pietra del Paragone, “The Touchstone,” introduced at La Scala and given fifty performances in its first season. Tancredi, “Tancrède,” based on Voltaire, and L’Italiana in Algieri, “The Italian Girl in Algiers,” were even more successful triumphs. By the age of twenty-one, Rossini’s early successes established him as the indisputable idol of the Italian opera public. In 1815, he was engaged to write new works as well as direct two opera companies in Naples. His first opera under that arrangement was Elisabetta, written expressly for the popular Spanish prima donna, Isabella Colbran, the former mistress of the King of Naples, and later the woman who would become his wife and for whom he would write several operas. In 1816, Rossini wrote his celebrated opera buffa masterpiece, The Barber of Seville. Even though a combination of circumstances spelled disaster for the opera at its premiere, on its second evening the opera was acclaimed, and with each successive

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performance, it gained new admirers. Today, it is generally considered the greatest comic masterpiece in the entire operatic canon. In 1822, after marrying Isabella Colbran, Rossini left Italy for Vienna, where he and his operas became the rage, and two years later, he went to Paris to direct the Théâtre des Italiens. Rossini’s popularity in Paris was so great that Charles X gave him a contract to write five new operas a year, and at the expiration of the contract, he was to receive a generous pension for life. During his Paris years, between 1824 and 1829, Rossini composed the comic opera Le Comte d’Ory, “Count Ory,” and the opera many consider his most serious masterpiece, Guillaume Tell, “William Tell” (1829), the latter a political epic adapted from Schiller’s play (1804) about the thirteenth century Swiss patriot who rallied his country against the Austrians. The stylistic innovations Rossini introduced in both these works were momentous and would eventually influence composers as different as Adam, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, Verdi, and Wagner. Rossini’s contemporary audience considered his music like vintage wine, always improving with age, and never growing sour or flat. His music was always fresh, gay, simple, and saturated with sparkling melodies and an inexhaustible joie de vivre; his music was easily understood at first hearing, and never required the discovery of an underlying significance. Though Rossini was only thirty-eight years old when he completed William Tell, he had already composed thirty-eight operas. Rossini would put down his operatic pen, retire, and live for thirty-eight years more, never again writing another note for an opera. He was at the height of his creative powers and a world-renowned figure, yet in the subsequent four decades of his life, he produced only some sacred music, a few songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces. Rossini did not fit into the conventional picture of the starving composer: few composers in their lifetimes ever enjoyed such phenomenal success, and he literally sat on top of the music world, becoming pleasantly intoxicated with his well-deserved success. Nevertheless, his sudden withdrawal from the

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world of opera has inspired much conjecture. Some scholars have concluded that Rossini’s indolence and laziness had gotten the better of him after he had achieved such immense wealth: others claim that the initial failure of William Tell to achieve success had embittered him; that he was disappointed that his fame had become overshadowed by the popularity of those grand opera spectacles of Meyerbeer and Halévy which replaced his opera buffas; and still others suggest that Rossini’s neurasthenia, a mental disorder characterized by fatigue and anxiety, as well as his debilitating bout with gonorrhea, had become too serious after 1830 and prohibited him from work. While in his retirement, Rossini became a major figure in the social and cultural life of Paris. He had become esteemed as Europe’s leading composer, and his overtures were even compared to those of Beethoven. He relished the title, “the music emperor of Europe,” and he certainly lived like one, maintaining homes in Italy, Paris, and a summer villa in rural France. Rossini had become rich, famous, and gourmandstomached. After finally marrying Olympe Pélissier, a woman whom he had loved for years but could not marry until his first wife died, he reigned like a nineteenthcentury prince in his luxurious Paris apartment, where he entertained friends in the grand manner, granted audiences, held court, and offered commentaries. Legends report that the young classical composer Camille Saint-Saëns would be anxiously sitting in one corner of Rossini’s home waiting his turn at the piano, and in another, a famous singer would likewise be preparing to entertain the bejeweled ladies. Rossini’s death was brought about by complications following a heart attack. He was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, but at the request of the Italian government, his body was removed to Florence where he is buried in the cemetery of the Santa Croce Church. Thirty-eight years was a long retirement, and a long time to be devoted to Rossini’s legacy of gourmand eating, attractive women, and sharp witticisms. Nevertheless, the most famous opera composer of his generation preferred to remain silent musically, and in spite of his personal problems and illnesses, one could easily conjecture that perhaps he

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was satisfied that he had said all he ever wanted to say in the last dramatic scene of William Tell: it was a passionate cry for liberty during an historical time of severe tension between reform and revolution.

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ossini was a remarkably productive composer, completing an average of two operas per year for nineteen years, and in some years writing as many as four operas. His operatic muse worked quickly, and it is reputed that he composed The Barber of Seville in three weeks, and at a later time, boasted to Wagner that he had written the opera in thirteen days. Rossini was constantly balancing the tensions between mediocrity and genius. His prolific rate of opera production was made possible by his amazing creative facilities, his fluent technical resources and capabilities, his nimble craftsmanship, and his fertile melodic inventiveness. What helped increase his voluminous output was his capacity for making compromises. It could be conjectured that Rossini had the temperament of a hack, often using poor material to overcome a lack of inspiration or “composer’s block.” It is rumored that he even permitted other composers to interpolate numbers of their own into his works, and he often conveniently borrowed ideas from his older operas, although that practice is universal for all composers: The Barber of Seville Overture is derived from a medley of themes from his previous opera, Aureliano in Palmira, which also furnished the melodic framework for Rosina’s aria in The Barber; Una voce poca fa. Nevertheless, Rossini was a true genius who could bring the most sublime melodic inspiration into his writing, what Verdi would call, “an abundance of true musical ideas.” His bold experiments brought significant innovations to the opera genre: he perfected what is today called the Rossini crescendo, earning him the pseudonyms Signor crescendo and Signor accelerando. Those techniques repeated a phrase over and over in rapid tempo with no variation save that of volume: the technique facilitated an explosion of patter and genuine excitement in his scores, and to this day, represent his unique, identifying musical signature.

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Rossini was one of the first composers to write out cadenzas instead of allowing the singer to improvise them: he was a pioneer in accompanying recitatives with strings instead of piano or harpsichord; and he developed his ensembles to almost symphonic proportions. His more profound use of orchestra, together with his inventive creation of orchestral effects and coloration, provided a unique expressiveness. In particular, his overtures, which are performed in concert with extreme frequency, remain examples of his outstanding orchestral achievements: La Gazza Laddra, Semiramide, and, of course, the William Tell Overture, the latter familiar to millions as the Lone Ranger Theme. Rossini’s greatness lies in the fact that he not only composed great comic operas, but serious operas as well. The best pages of his serious operas have power and passion, and his best comic operas are marked with a dashing spontaneity, verve, and gaiety; he mastered the art of mixing humor with pathos. Among his most important operas are: La Scale di Seta (1812); La Pietra del Paragone (1812); Il Signor Bruschino (1813); Tancredi (1813); L’Italiana in Algieri (1813); Elisabetta (1815); II Barbiere di Siviglia (1815); Otello (1816); La Cenerentola (1817); La Gazza Ladra (1817); Armida (1817); Mosè in Egitto (1818); La Donna del Lago (1819); Zelmira (1822); Semiramide (1823); Le Siège de Corinthe (1826), Le Comte d’Ory (1828); and Guillaume Tell.

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ossini, together with his contemporaries, Bellini and Donizetti, were the Italian triumvirate of the bel canto opera tradition that dominated early nineteenth century opera: bel canto literally means “beautiful singing.” The bel canto style is voice concentrated, and demands singing with beauty, elegance, flexibility, an assured technique, bravura, vocal acrobatics, and virtuosity. At the beginning of the nineteenth century in Italy, music meant opera, and opera to the Italians meant singing: opera became an art form with scientific foundations that displayed the technical versatility of the voice as well as the Italian propensity for beautiful melody.

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Rossini composed exclusively in the bel canto tradition: all of his music contains beautiful melodic lines which require singing virtuosity. Often bel canto, coloratura, and even fioritura, are synonymous terms used interchangeably, but primarily, they all stress an elaborate and brilliant ornamentation of the vocal line in which the concentration is on the voice and melody. Bel canto and its vocal fireworks, when performed intelligently, inherently provide dramatic poignancy and eloquence: in this style, it is the voice and vocal line, together with vocal fireworks, virtuosity, and bravura that become the preeminent features of the art-form. As a consequence, lyricism dominates, and by necessity, the orchestra becomes a secondary ingredient, generally an accompanist that is subdued when the singer is singing, regardless of what is transpiring dramatically. The dramatic intensity of many bel canto librettos receives minor praise from our modern music-drama centered audiences: in the bel canto tradition, drama and dramatic continuity were generally secondary considerations to the art of singing. In retrospect, many of those bel canto librettos could be considered humdrum and hackneyed, even though an abundant number of them were written by extremely talented and original craftsmen. Nevertheless, it has been the freshness of the underlying music of bel canto operas that has compelled many opera-goers to overlook the librettos, and contemporary champions of the tradition have proven that there can be real drama in these works. In this style, dramatic effects and pathos are expressed primarily through the inflection of the vocal line: therefore, coloratura passages achieve their dramatic effects through dynamics, becoming bent and flexed, stretched, speeded up, or slowed down. The opera seria, or serious operatic style which had reached its peak during the mid-eighteenth century, provided an exquisite means to display and glorify the voice: drama would be expressed through vocal bravura in operas such as Handel’s Julius Caesar (1723), and Mozart’s Idomeneo (1781). In later melodramas composed in the Romantic era, or the bel canto era, the voice became the instrument to

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convey drama: the sleepwalking heroine in Bellini’s La Sonnambula (1831), the Mad Scene in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), and later, Lady Macbeth’s Sleepwalking scene in Verdi’s Macbeth (1847). Those three great masters, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, have left a legacy of bel canto operas for posterity: the preeminence of their works on our contemporary stage remains proof that the art form is not only captivating, but a classic art form capable of continuous rejuvenation. Certainly, the art form is very much alive in the contemporary opera theater, as proven by the success of recent superstars of the genre: Maria Callas, Alfredo Kraus, Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, and currently, Cecilia Bartoli, and Jeniffer Larmore. In the bel canto period, it was the singer’s day: opera existed for the express purpose of showing off the voice, and in each of Rossini’s thirty-eight operas, he proved that he was one of the greatest and foremost practitioners, as well as innovators, of the bel canto Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri is a art form. superb comic opera that conveys its humor, gaiety, and sentimentalism, in the tradition of bel canto, “beautiful singing.”

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he Commedia dell’Arte genre - literally translated as “artistic-play”- originated and is defined as satirical entertainment. The tradition existed for centuries, most prominently performed by troupes of strolling players throughout Italy during the Rennaissance. At that time, its underlying satire and irony were important and popular theatrical forces, and ultimately, they would shape the development of comedy for future generations. The art form originated in market places and streets where performers traditionally wore masks in order to conceal their identities: their protection was necessitated by the fact that they were satirizing and ridiculing their contemporary world; performers clowned, insulted, and ridiculed every aspect of society and its institutions by characterizing humorous or hypocritical situations involving cunning servants, scheming doctors, and duped masters.

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In order to draw attention to themselves, they generally wore exaggerated and comical costumes. Plots would contain very few lines of set dialogue, and much of their performance contained spontaneous improvisation. The standard characters were the Harlequin, Columbine, and Pulchinello, and in Italy, the characters became affectionately known as zanni, no doubt the root of our English word “zany,” meaning funny in a crazy or silly way, or a silly person, clown, or buffoon. During the eighteenth century, the Intermezzo developed in the Italian theater: it was a short play with music that was presented between the acts of a serious drama. The Commedia dell’Arte and the Intermezzo genres were the theatrical predecessors that would develop into the opera buffa: Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, “The Maid Mistress” (1733), was one of the earliest opera buffas, and almost a century later, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (1816) would serve as the model for all future works in the genre, followed by Donizetti L’Elisir d’Amore, “The Elixir of Love” (1832) and Don Pasquale (1843) ; Verdi’s Falstaff (1893), and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (1918).The Commedia dell’Arte and opera buffa comic traditions and satires became the prototype for modern vaudeville, exemplified by Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and today, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. Opera buffa, the comic or satiric genre, must be distinguished from its more serious predecessor, opera seria. The opera seria generally dealt with historical, legendary, or mythological themes, and usually contained a happy ending with due reward for rectitude and good deed. Quintessential examples of opera seria are Handel’s Julius Caesar (1724), Gluck’s Orfeo et Euridice (1762), and Mozart’s Idomeneo (1781). During the pre-French Revolution and preRomantic eras, aristocrats identified with the extremely popular opera seria genre: these operas portrayed lofty personalities whom they perceived as flattering portraits of themselves. Opera serias utilized massive scenes of pageantry that were married to highly complex, ornamented arias that would exploit the virtuosity of individual singers.

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As the end of the eighteenth century approached, the opera buffa developed: it was a more realistic genre that portrayed more human characters in everyday situations rather than in idealized representations. The lower classes, in an almost uncanny extension of the classical Commedia dell’Arte and Intermezzo genres, preferred the satire of the opera buffa genre, which, like its predecessors, was usually concerned with love intrigues involving cuckolds, deceiving wives, and scheming servants. In certain respects, opera buffa’s themes and subjects provided a democratization in the performing arts, that enabled the lower classes, mostly through comedy, to satirize their masters and vent their frustrations and chagrin: in effect, opera buffa was a form of populist theater. In contrast to the opera seria, the opera buffa preferred simplicity in design. Generally, a few characters would be portrayed against an uncomplicated setting, yet musically, there would be much stylistic contrast; tuneful melodies, and rhythmic, staccato passages to emphasize moods. Opera buffa featured extended act finales with sophisticated ensembles (taboo in the opera seria), and many setpieces involving the participation of many characters in duets and trios. Patter songs are a feature of opera buffa: these are tongue twisters delivered at presto speed that represents an art in itself; it requires an acute sense of comic timing in order for the singer to make the words intelligible, and a vocal virtuosity equivalent to words coming out of a typewriter at breakneck speed. In its practical sense, patter is nothing more or less than rapid fire articulation, similar to those popular tonguetwisters: “She sells seashells at the seashore,” or “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” In most classic opera buffas, the patter usually portrayed old busybodies, and were usually sung by basso buffos who would be chattering and grumbling incessantly. Rossini’s opera buffas created the role-model for patter songs and made them de rigeur: in The Barber of Seville, Figaro’s Largo al factotum is an example of quintessential patter. Mozart ingeniously used the inherent satirical style of the opera buffa genre to reflect the changing social and political currents that had been awakened by the

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Enlightenment: the demise of the ancien régime that would vanish at the end of the eighteenth century. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (1786), is considered one of the greatest opera buffas: a satiric portrayal of the political and social conflicts existing within his contemporary society. To achieve his objectives, Mozart created incomparable musical characterizations: his heroes became the lower classes such as Figaro and Susanna, and his antiheroes became those contemptible aristocrats such as the Count Almaviva and Dr. Bartolo. Mozart brilliantly utilized the opera buffa genre, injecting his ingenious musical inventions, and breathing life into his characterizations. The essence of good comedy is not that it has necessarily happened, but that it could happen. Therefore, comedy must have a link with reality so that it does not degenerate into farce. In order to be convincing and believable, real or imagined situations must convey a sense of credibility. As such, the essence of opera buffa is to provide satire and irony, together with moments of seriousness and real human emotions: a magnificent blend of heartfelt comedy and humor together with sentiment and tenderness so that the comic action achieves credibility. Rossini once wrote: “I was born for the opera buffa.” His The Barber of Seville and L’Italian in Algeri, are pure opera buffas, and an ingenious writing within that genre and style. Like Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, both are nineteenth century works that are presented with musical and dramatic tastefulness, elegance, and refinement, and never bear the faintest hint of vulgarity.

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he year 1813 was a keystone year in Rossini’s career. He was 21years-old, barely out of his teens, and up to that time, had been recognized as a promising young composer: among his half-dozen minor works, the most notable were his one-act farces, La Pietra del Paragone, “The Touchstone,” La Scala di Seta, “The Silken Ladder,” and Il Signor Bruschino, or, Il Figlio per Azzardo,“The Son by Accident.” However, in 1813, Rossini established himself as

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the most successful contemporary composer of opera with two masterpieces that premiered in Venice: Tancredi and L’Italiana in Algeri; both achieved outstanding acclaim. Tancredi was Rossini’s first serious opera: it was based on Tancrède, the Voltaire tragedy that takes place in Syracuse during the conflicts between Christians and Moslems. In the story, the hero and heroine engage in trials and misunderstandings before they ultimately find true love. The opera contains Di tanti palpiti, one of Rossini’s most beautiful love songs, however, it was specifically its orchestration that awed the public: Stendhal remarked that the orchestration was so advanced that it represented “an art of expressing by means of instruments that portion of their sentiments which the characters could not convey to us.” Three months later, Rossini’s first comic masterwork premiered: L’Italiana in Algeri, “The Italian Girl in Algiers.” The vitality, vivacity, and sparkle of the work were unprecedented, Rossini excelling in his musical characterizations, and endowing them with a psychological depth and refinement that were new and innovative in the comic opera genre of the times.

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’Italiana was commissioned by the Teatro San Benedetto, Venice; it was an emergency replacement for an opera that had failed. Rossini composed operas at a rapid pace, and depending on the biographical source, L’Italiana was completed in either 18 or 27 days. Angelo Anelli, 1761-1820, a renowned classical scholar, wrote more than 40 librettos, one of his most famous written for Stefano Pavesi’s Ser Marcantonio, and later adapted by Giovanni Ruffini for Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (1843). Anelli’s libretto, L’Italiana in Algeri, was derived from a real-life event: in 1805 a young Milanese woman, Antonietta Frapollo, was kidnapped and taken to the court of Mustapha-ibn-Ibrahim in Algiers. In 1808, Luigi Mosca, 1775–1824, a composer of some 17 operas, wrote the music for Anelli’s libretto: his musical style remarkably mirrored that of Rossini;

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much vocal patter, large ensembles, and, those classic Rossini trademark techniques, the accelerando and crescendo. For Rossini’s Teatro San Benedetto commission, he bowed to expediency and decided to re-work Angelo Anelli’s libretto, even though Mosca’s L’Italiana in Algeri.had premiered only five years earlier in 1808. At the premiere of Rossini’s L’Italiana, the audience initially viewed the opera as unsubstantially changed from Mosca’s L’Italiana: they immediately condemned Rossini as a plagiarizer. Nevertheless, most Venetian critics were more astute and genuine, immediately realizing that Rossini had produced one of his most original and brilliant scores. They acclaimed the work as freshly written and containing a dazzling overture, the overture one of the best of its genre, and one that has since become a permanent concert staple. Rossini’s ingenious, remarkable comic musical inventions illuminated the score of his L’Italiana, certainly transcending Mosca’s earlier version, just as his The Barber transcended Paisello’s earlier version. The opera caught on quickly and was widely performed, immediately becoming a popular staple on European stages: it became the first Rossini opera to be staged in Germany (1816, Munich), and in France (1817, Paris). Almost a century later, Richard Strauss was among those reported to have been “mad with enthusiasm” about the opera: consequently, in modern times, Rossini’s L’Italiana remains a secure and permanent staple in the repertory:

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he story of the L’Italiana takes place in Algeria during the early nineteenth century. The key figure in the opera is Mustafà, the Bey of Algiers: the presence of the Moor in Algiers is explained by historical events. When the Moors were expelled from Spain in the sixteenth century, they sought asylum on the Barbary Coast, the northern coast of Africa that extends form the Egyptian border to the Atlantic, and in particular, incorporates the Barbary States of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. Many became pirates, or corsairs, earning their livelihood by attacking Spain’s seaborne commerce. In 1529, the Moor, Barbarossa, (Khayr ad-Din),

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united Algeria and Tunisia, placing it under the authority of the Ottoman sultanate: for the next 300 years it became a major base for Muslim Barbary pirates who earned their revenues from piracy; captains commanded cruisers that were outfitted by wealthy backers who then received 10 percent of the value of their booty. Beginning in 1541, Charles V and the European powers made repeated attempts to quell the pirates but were unsuccessful. During the early nineteenth century, the United States was involved in several wars in Tripoli to combat piracy, making a final peace treaty in 1805 with the Beys, and with the Regency of Tripoli in Barbary. However, it was not until 1830 when the French captured the city of Algiers that wanton piracy was ended from the Barbary coast. Nevertheless, the Barbary coast was ruled by the Ottoman Empire at the time of the story of L’Italiana in Algeri, and Mustafà is the Bey, an Ottoman provincial governor.

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’Italiana is quintessential opera buffa whose fantastic plot combines sentiment with elements bordering on absurdity: the metaphorical ship-sinking finale of Act I, and the farcical Pappatacci rituals at the opera’s conclusion are scenes of magnificent hilarity. Rossini endowed his score with a magnificent blend of sophisticated, sparkling, and craftily structured inventions: there are catchy tunes, pulse-stirring shifts in rhythm, breathless accelerandos and crescendos, ensembles that demand vocal virtuosity and acrobatics, roulades (florid vocal embellishment sung to one syllable), rapid-fire patter, and each sequence leading to that inevitable Rossini climax. Its highlights are memorable: Lindoro’s sublime love songs, Isabella’s patriotic ballad, the duet between Mustafà and Lindoro, the Pappatacci trio, and the continuous barking and shouting of the lust-crazed Mustafà. Rossini strengthened the character of Isabella from its Anello-Mosca original: Isabella becomes an archetypal Rossinian heroine, an insightful female who is independent, bright, strong-willed, as well as cunning and resourceful.

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L’Italiana, composed at the beginning of the nineteenth century, incorporates ideology and sensibilities from the young Romantic era; their dedication to freedom and feeling. Underneath the surface of the previous century’s Enlightenment, it was man, not woman, who possessed the great gift of reason. Inferentially, the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason suggested an attitude of contempt and distaste for women, at times considering them unspiritual, devoid of reason, and fickle. The superficial gallantry of the era could almost be interpreted as a disguise for a deep-seated hatred and fear of women. The Romantic period represented a backlash to the Enlightenment: in Romanticism, woman was liberated and elevated, as in Goethe, to the ewige weibliche, la femme eterne, “the eternal woman”; in effect, the redeemer of man’s egotism and narcissism through her unbounded love and sacrifice. Beethoven’s Leonora, the heroine in his singular operatic masterpiece, Fidelio (1805), became that ennobled redeeming woman. Later, Richard Wagner became preoccupied with redeeming women: Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, Senta in The Flying Dutchman, Isolde in Tristan und Isolde, and Brünnhilde in the Ring operas. L’Italiana’s heroine, Isabella, certainly reflects those new Romantic era sensibilities: in many respects, her character possesses many of the elements of modern feminist ideology. Isabella speaks as an independent woman; a liberated woman with a sense of personal self confidence, conviction, and individualism. She is a woman with resolve who wants to control her own life and decide her own destiny. She knows that she wants Lindoro, and is determined to succeed. She intuitively knows men, and is keenly aware of the power of her persuasive charm, confident in her own abilities to stimulate love and make men fall in love with her. Three years after L’Italiana, Rossini would create another determined female character: Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Nonetheless, Isabella is very much a nineteenth century Romantic era archetype, a woman liberated by her conviction that she can control her own life, and a woman far removed from the stigmas of the Enlightenment. Isabella’s actions drive the story: she accomplishes all of her objectives by uniting with Lindoro, freeing

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the Italian prisoners, reuniting Elvira with Mustafà, and through her wiles, cleverness – and sensual charm – reducing Mustafà’s arrogance to virtual subservience.

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’Italiana was Rossini’s first comic masterpiece, and certainly not his last. Rossini’s style served as the role model that stimulated comic masterpieces from Donizetti (L’Elisir d’Amore and Don Pasquale), Verdi (Falstaff), and Puccini (Gianni Schicchi). L’Italiana is a fun and games opera, a sparkling and witty opera buffa that radiates both musically and textually: it captures the essence of Rossini’s ingenuity to musically convey satire and humor not only in the opera buffa tradition, but also in the bel canto style..

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