List of operas set in the Crusades
Encyclopedia
Opera
s set against the background of the medieval Crusades
can be found in the earliest examples of the art form and continue to be written into the 21st century. Many of the works listed here contain characters and plots based on real or legendary figures of the time such as Tancred, Prince of Galilee
, Godfrey of Bouillon
or Jaufre Rudel
. The majority are set, at least in part, in the Holy Land
and the surrounding region and deal with the conflicts between the Christian
s and Muslim
s. Others, such as Donizetti's Gabriella di Vergy
, deal with the misadventures of knights returning from the Crusades. In the case of Gabriella di Vergy, Raoul de Coucy returns from the Third Crusade
to find that his beloved Gabriella has married Lord Fayel. Following a duel, Fayel cuts out the heart of the unfortunate Raoul and presents it in an urn to Gabriella. The only comedy in the list, Rossini's Le comte Ory
, recounts the attempts by Ory and his friends to seduce the Countess of Formoutiers and the women of her household while their men are away at the Crusades. Ory's ploy of dressing up as nuns to gain access to the women is foiled when the Crusaders return. Many of the libretti
for the operas listed are based either directly or indirectly on Torquato Tasso
's epic poem, La Gerusalemme liberata
(Jerusalem Delivered), or on Voltaire
's tragic
play, Zaïre
.
Torquato Tasso
's 1581 epic poem La Gerusalemme liberata
and Voltaire
's 1732 play, Zaïre
were the sources for the majority of operas in this list and are described in more detail below. Other literary works which have served as the basis for operas on the Crusades include: Niccolò Forteguerri's 1735 mock epic poem, Il Ricciardetto; Dormont De Belloy's 1777 play, Gabrielle de Vergy; Jean-Antoine-Marie Monperlier
's 1813 play Les Chevaliers de Malte (The Knights of Malta); August von Kotzebue
's 1820 play Die Kreuzfahrer (The Crusaders); Sir Walter Scott's 1825 novel, The Talisman; and Tommaso Grossi
's 1826 epic poem I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards in the First Crusade).
and Ferrara
in 1581. The main characters are a mixture of historical figures and ones invented by Tasso. Of the poem's main characters below, the invented Rinaldo and Armida, are the most frequent operatic characters. Their love story, primarily recounted in Canto XVI, is one of the most famous episodes in La Gerusalemme liberata and has alone served as the theme for over fifty operas as well as many paintings. Apart from Tancredi, the historically based characters tend to have relatively minor roles in operas based on the poem.
Goffredo is Godfrey of Bouillon
, one of the military leaders of the First Crusade
and later ruler of Jerusalem. (The original title of La Gerusalemme liberata was Il Goffredo.)
Pietro l'eremita is Peter the Hermit
, the spiritual leader of The People's Crusade
.
Tancredi is Tancred, Prince of Galilee
, a Norman
knight who became the ruler of Galilee
and Antioch
. He and Gaston IV of Béarn
claimed to be the first Crusaders to enter Jerusalem when the city fell on 15 July 1099. In the poem, Tancredi falls in love with Clorinda and in turn is loved by both Clorinda and Erminia.
Rinaldo (fictional) is a valiant Christian knight. In the story, he is an ancestor of the House of Este, a compliment paid to Tasso's patron Alfonso II d'Este
the Duke of Ferrara
. Rinaldo shares the name (but not the identity) of an earlier Christian knight, Rinaldo di Montalbano
who was a character in Ariosto
's Orlando Furioso
. After escaping Armida's enchantment, he seeks penance
on the Mount of Olives
for having abandoned his Christian duty for love and participates in the final assault on Jerusalem.
Armida (fictional) is a beautiful highborn woman from Damascus
and a sorceress. Her grandfather (Idraote), the ruler of the city was also a sorcerer. She uses her beauty and her magic to enchant the Christian knights and sow discord amongst them. After spiriting Rinaldo away to her magic isle, they fall in love. When Rinaldo comes to his senses and leaves her to return to battle, she becomes suicidal. Her character has elements of both Homer
's Circe
and Ariosto's Alcina
.
Erminia (fictional) is the daughter of the Muslim King of Antioch (Cassano) who was killed by the Crusaders when they conquered the city. Tancredi nevertheless treats her with honour and protects her, causing Erminia to fall in love with him. When Tancredi is wounded in battle and on the verge of death, she betrays her people by curing him with special herbs. Her love turns to jealousy when she realizes that Tancredi is in love with Clorinda and she returns to her people.
Clorinda (fictional) is a warrior-princess, fighting on the side of the Muslims. Unbeknownst to her, she is actually the daughter of the Christian King of Ethiopia
. She was born white
, an extraordinary fact attributed to her having been conceived beneath a painting of Saint George
. Fearing that the dark-skinned King would not believe this explanation, Clorinda's mother had the child taken to Egypt by her servant (Arsete), where she was raised a Muslim. Clorinda and Tancredi fall in love, but ultimately meet in battle during the final assault on Jerusalem, although they don't recognize each other beneath their armour. Clorinda is killed by Tancredi, and dying in his arms asks him to baptize her.
Sofronia and Olindo (fictional) are young Christian lovers living in Jerusalem before its fall to the Crusaders. When the Muslim ruler of the city, Aladino, orders a persecution the Christians, they are sent for execution. Clorinda takes pity on them and rescues them as they are about to be burnt at the stake.
Argante (fictional) is a hot-headed Saracen warrior and an emissary of the King of Egypt and King Aladino. He is eventually slain by Tancredi.
Ismene (fictional) is a powerful sorceror in the service of King Aladino. At one point Ismene convinces Aladino to steal an icon of the Virgin Mary and hang it in a mosque
, where he can cast a spell on it.
Voltaire's Zaïre
(The Tragedy of Zara) was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française at the Théâtre de la rue des Fossés Saint-Germain. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the protagonist's character to ones based on pathos
. The tragic fate of its heroine is caused not through any fault of her own, but by the jealousy of her lover and the intolerance of her fellow Christians. Voltaire ostensibly set the play in the "Epoch of Saint Louis"
. However, the plot and characters are largely fiction. The historical characters alluded to, members of the Lusignan and Châtillon
families, were related to events of the Crusades
but not alive at the time of Louis IX.
The characters' names in the original French are:
The play's melodramatic plot and a setting that appealed to the orientalism
in vogue in late 18th and early 19th century Europe made it popular with opera composers. Zaïre has been the inspiration for at least thirteen opera
s. One of the earliest operatic adaptations was Peter Winter
's Zaire which premiered in 1805 at The King's Theatre
in London with the famous Italian contralto
, Giuseppina Grassini
, in the title role. Bellini
's 1829 Zaira
, also based on the play, was expressly written for the inauguration of the Teatro Regio di Parma but was a failure on the opening night and has been rarely performed since then. Johann Andreas Schachtner's libretto
for Mozart's unfinished opera Zaïde
, was based largely on a 1778 singspiel
, The Seraglio, or The Unexpected Reunion of Father, Daughter and Son in Slavery. However, both appear to have been significantly influenced by the plot and themes of Zaïre which had been performed in Salzburg
as late as 1777.
(a short spectacle performed between the acts of a play with its own story-line) and the madrigale concertato (literally "concerted madrigal", a dramatic composition for voices and instruments, often performed semi-staged). Several works in those genres were also based on Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata, including:
The operas below are listed in chronological order by the date of their first performance. Where this is unavailable, or the opera premiered many years after the composer's death, the date of composition is given.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s set against the background of the medieval Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
can be found in the earliest examples of the art form and continue to be written into the 21st century. Many of the works listed here contain characters and plots based on real or legendary figures of the time such as Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
, Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
or Jaufre Rudel
Jaufré Rudel
Jaufre Rudel was the Prince of Blaye and a troubadour of the early–mid 12th century, who probably died during the Second Crusade, in or after 1147...
. The majority are set, at least in part, in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
and the surrounding region and deal with the conflicts between the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s. Others, such as Donizetti's Gabriella di Vergy
Gabriella di Vergy
Gabriella di Vergy is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti written in 1826 and revised in 1838, from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy by Dormont De Belloy...
, deal with the misadventures of knights returning from the Crusades. In the case of Gabriella di Vergy, Raoul de Coucy returns from the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
to find that his beloved Gabriella has married Lord Fayel. Following a duel, Fayel cuts out the heart of the unfortunate Raoul and presents it in an urn to Gabriella. The only comedy in the list, Rossini's Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X...
, recounts the attempts by Ory and his friends to seduce the Countess of Formoutiers and the women of her household while their men are away at the Crusades. Ory's ploy of dressing up as nuns to gain access to the women is foiled when the Crusaders return. Many of the libretti
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for the operas listed are based either directly or indirectly on Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's epic poem, La Gerusalemme liberata
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
(Jerusalem Delivered), or on Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
's tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
play, Zaïre
Zaïre (play)
Zaïre is a five act tragedy in verse by Voltaire. Written in only three weeks, it was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the...
.
Literary sources
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's 1581 epic poem La Gerusalemme liberata
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
and Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
's 1732 play, Zaïre
Zaïre (play)
Zaïre is a five act tragedy in verse by Voltaire. Written in only three weeks, it was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the...
were the sources for the majority of operas in this list and are described in more detail below. Other literary works which have served as the basis for operas on the Crusades include: Niccolò Forteguerri's 1735 mock epic poem, Il Ricciardetto; Dormont De Belloy's 1777 play, Gabrielle de Vergy; Jean-Antoine-Marie Monperlier
Jean-Antoine-Marie Monperlier
Jean-Antoine-Marie Monperlier, was a French poet, playwright, and librettist. His plays ranged from light vaudeville to larger scale melodramas, often incorporating ballet sequences...
's 1813 play Les Chevaliers de Malte (The Knights of Malta); August von Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
's 1820 play Die Kreuzfahrer (The Crusaders); Sir Walter Scott's 1825 novel, The Talisman; and Tommaso Grossi
Tommaso Grossi
Tommaso Grossi , Lombard poet and novelist, was born in Bellano, beside the Lake of Como.He took his degree in law at Pavia in 1810, and proceeded thence to Milan to exercise his profession; but the Austrian government, suspecting his loyalty, interfered with his prospects, and in consequence...
's 1826 epic poem I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards in the First Crusade).
Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
At least one hundred operas have been inspired by Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). He began writing it while still a schoolboy and finished it in 1575 when he was thirty. The first complete editions were published in ParmaParma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
in 1581. The main characters are a mixture of historical figures and ones invented by Tasso. Of the poem's main characters below, the invented Rinaldo and Armida, are the most frequent operatic characters. Their love story, primarily recounted in Canto XVI, is one of the most famous episodes in La Gerusalemme liberata and has alone served as the theme for over fifty operas as well as many paintings. Apart from Tancredi, the historically based characters tend to have relatively minor roles in operas based on the poem.
Goffredo is Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
, one of the military leaders of the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
and later ruler of Jerusalem. (The original title of La Gerusalemme liberata was Il Goffredo.)
Pietro l'eremita is Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit was a priest of Amiens and a key figure during the First Crusade.-Before 1096:According to Anna Comnena, he had attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Seljuk Turks from reaching his goal and was tortured.Sources differ as to whether he...
, the spiritual leader of The People's Crusade
People's Crusade
The People's Crusade is part of the First Crusade and lasted roughly six months from April 1096 to October. It is also known as the Peasants' Crusade or the Paupers' Crusade...
.
Tancredi is Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
, a Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
knight who became the ruler of Galilee
Principality of Galilee
The Principality of Galilee was one of the four major seigneuries of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin. The direct holdings of the principality were around Tiberias, in Galilee proper, but with all its vassals, the lordship covered all Galilee...
and Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
. He and Gaston IV of Béarn
Gaston IV of Béarn
Gaston IV was viscount of Béarn from 1090 to 1131. He was called "le Croisé" due to his participation in the First Crusade....
claimed to be the first Crusaders to enter Jerusalem when the city fell on 15 July 1099. In the poem, Tancredi falls in love with Clorinda and in turn is loved by both Clorinda and Erminia.
Rinaldo (fictional) is a valiant Christian knight. In the story, he is an ancestor of the House of Este, a compliment paid to Tasso's patron Alfonso II d'Este
Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara
Alfonso II d'Este was duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the house of Este.-Biography:...
the Duke of Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
. Rinaldo shares the name (but not the identity) of an earlier Christian knight, Rinaldo di Montalbano
Renaud de Montauban
Renaud de Montauban, was a fictional hero who was introduced to literature in a 12th century Old French chanson de geste also known as Les Quatre Fils Aymon . His exploits form part of the Doon de Mayence cycle of chansons...
who was a character in Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
's Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
. After escaping Armida's enchantment, he seeks penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
for having abandoned his Christian duty for love and participates in the final assault on Jerusalem.
Armida (fictional) is a beautiful highborn woman from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and a sorceress. Her grandfather (Idraote), the ruler of the city was also a sorcerer. She uses her beauty and her magic to enchant the Christian knights and sow discord amongst them. After spiriting Rinaldo away to her magic isle, they fall in love. When Rinaldo comes to his senses and leaves her to return to battle, she becomes suicidal. Her character has elements of both Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...
and Ariosto's Alcina
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
.
Erminia (fictional) is the daughter of the Muslim King of Antioch (Cassano) who was killed by the Crusaders when they conquered the city. Tancredi nevertheless treats her with honour and protects her, causing Erminia to fall in love with him. When Tancredi is wounded in battle and on the verge of death, she betrays her people by curing him with special herbs. Her love turns to jealousy when she realizes that Tancredi is in love with Clorinda and she returns to her people.
Clorinda (fictional) is a warrior-princess, fighting on the side of the Muslims. Unbeknownst to her, she is actually the daughter of the Christian King of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. She was born white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, an extraordinary fact attributed to her having been conceived beneath a painting of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
. Fearing that the dark-skinned King would not believe this explanation, Clorinda's mother had the child taken to Egypt by her servant (Arsete), where she was raised a Muslim. Clorinda and Tancredi fall in love, but ultimately meet in battle during the final assault on Jerusalem, although they don't recognize each other beneath their armour. Clorinda is killed by Tancredi, and dying in his arms asks him to baptize her.
Sofronia and Olindo (fictional) are young Christian lovers living in Jerusalem before its fall to the Crusaders. When the Muslim ruler of the city, Aladino, orders a persecution the Christians, they are sent for execution. Clorinda takes pity on them and rescues them as they are about to be burnt at the stake.
Argante (fictional) is a hot-headed Saracen warrior and an emissary of the King of Egypt and King Aladino. He is eventually slain by Tancredi.
Ismene (fictional) is a powerful sorceror in the service of King Aladino. At one point Ismene convinces Aladino to steal an icon of the Virgin Mary and hang it in a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, where he can cast a spell on it.
Voltaire's Zaïre
Zaïre (play)
Zaïre is a five act tragedy in verse by Voltaire. Written in only three weeks, it was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the...
(The Tragedy of Zara) was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française at the Théâtre de la rue des Fossés Saint-Germain. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the protagonist's character to ones based on pathos
Pathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
. The tragic fate of its heroine is caused not through any fault of her own, but by the jealousy of her lover and the intolerance of her fellow Christians. Voltaire ostensibly set the play in the "Epoch of Saint Louis"
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
. However, the plot and characters are largely fiction. The historical characters alluded to, members of the Lusignan and Châtillon
House of Châtillon
The House of Châtillon was a notable French family, with origins in the 9th century and surviving until 1762. The name comes from a county in Champagne, with its capital in Châtillon-sur-Marne and branches in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, Blois, Penthièvre, Chartres, etc.The counts of Châtillon added to...
families, were related to events of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
but not alive at the time of Louis IX.
The characters' names in the original French are:
- Orosmane, (Osman) the Sultan of Jerusalem
- Zaïre, (Zara) a Christian slave kidnapped as a baby when Cesarea was sacked by the Muslim armies and the lover of Orosamane
- Nérestan, a French knight, and unbeknownst to Zaïre, her brother
- Lusignan, a descendant of the Christian princes of Jerusalem, now a prisoner of the Sultan and, unbeknownst to Zaïre, her father
- Fatime, (Fatima) a slave girl and Zaïre's friend
- Châtillon, a French knight and comrade of Nérestan
- Corasmin and Mélédor, officers of the Sultan
- Un esclave, an un-named slave
The play's melodramatic plot and a setting that appealed to the orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
in vogue in late 18th and early 19th century Europe made it popular with opera composers. Zaïre has been the inspiration for at least thirteen opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. One of the earliest operatic adaptations was Peter Winter
Peter Winter
Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera....
's Zaire which premiered in 1805 at The King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London with the famous Italian contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, Giuseppina Grassini
Giuseppina Grassini
Giuseppina Maria Camilla Grassini was a noted Italian contralto, and a singing teacher...
, in the title role. Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's 1829 Zaira
Zaira (opera)
Zaira is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini set to a libretto by Felice Romani which was based on Voltaire's 1732 tragedy, Zaïre. The story takes place in the time of the Crusades and the opera's plot involves the heroine, Zaira, struggling between her Christian...
, also based on the play, was expressly written for the inauguration of the Teatro Regio di Parma but was a failure on the opening night and has been rarely performed since then. Johann Andreas Schachtner's libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for Mozart's unfinished opera Zaïde
Zaide
Zaide is an unfinished opera, K. 344, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780. Emperor Joseph II, in 1778, was in the process of setting up an opera company for the purpose of performing German opera. One condition required of the composer to join this company was that he should write a...
, was based largely on a 1778 singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
, The Seraglio, or The Unexpected Reunion of Father, Daughter and Son in Slavery. However, both appear to have been significantly influenced by the plot and themes of Zaïre which had been performed in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
as late as 1777.
List of operas
The earliest work on this list, Il Tancredi by Girolamo Giacobbi, dates from 1615 when opera was still in its infancy and performed only in private palaces or court theatres. During this period operas co-existed with other forms of music drama which featured virtuoso singing – the intermedioIntermedio
The intermedio, or intermezzo, in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance which was performed between the acts of a play to celebrate special occasions in Italian courts. It was one of the important predecessors to opera, and an influence on...
(a short spectacle performed between the acts of a play with its own story-line) and the madrigale concertato (literally "concerted madrigal", a dramatic composition for voices and instruments, often performed semi-staged). Several works in those genres were also based on Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata, including:
- A set of intermedi composed by Cesare Marotta on the imprisonment, enchantment and liberation of Rinaldo (first performed in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1612) - Giovanni Rovetta's Le lagrime di Erminia (published in 1629)
- Monteverdi's, Il Combattimento di Tancredi e ClorindaIl Combattimento di Tancredi e ClorindaIl combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda is an operatic scena for three voices by Claudio Monteverdi, although many dispute how the piece should be classified. The piece has a libretto drawn from Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme Liberata , a Romance set against the backdrop of the First Crusade...
(first performed in VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1624) - Domenico MazzocchiDomenico MazzocchiDomenico Mazzocchi was an Italian baroque composer of the generation after Claudio Monteverdi. He was a composer of only vocal music, motets, oratorios and madrigals which have continuo, similar to the late Monteverdi's ones....
's Olindo e Sofronia (published in 1637)
The operas below are listed in chronological order by the date of their first performance. Where this is unavailable, or the opera premiered many years after the composer's death, the date of composition is given.
17th century operas
- Il Tancredi (1615, BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
) composed by Girolamo Giacobbi; libretto by Rodolfo Campeggi, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Rinaldo innamorato (1623, Florence) composed by Francesca CacciniFrancesca CacciniFrancesca Caccini was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was the daughter of Giulio Caccini, and was one of the best-known and most influential female European composers between Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century and the 19th century...
; libretto after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata (music lost) - Erminia sul Giordano (1633, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) composed by Michelangelo RossiMichelangelo RossiMichelangelo Rossi was an important Italian composer, violinist and organist of the Baroque era....
; libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - L'Armida (1639, Venice) composed by Benedetto FerrariBenedetto FerrariBenedetto Ferrari was an Italian composer, particularly of opera, librettist and theorbo player.Ferrari was born in Reggio nell'Emilia. He worked in Rome , Parma , and possibly in Modena at some time between 1623 and 1637. He created music and libretti in Venice and Bologna, 1637-44...
; libretto by Benedetto Ferrari, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - L'Amore trionfante dello sdegno (1641, FerraraFerraraFerrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
) composed by Marco MarazzoliMarco MarazzoliMarco Marazzoli was an Italian priest and composer.-Early life:Born at Parma, Marazzoli received early training as a priest, and was ordained around 1625. He moved to Rome in 1626, and entered the service of Cardinal Antonio Barberini...
; libretto after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - ArmideArmide (Lully)Armide is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata .Critics in the 18th century regarded Armide as Lully's masterpiece...
(1686, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) composed by Jean-Baptiste LullyJean-Baptiste LullyJean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
; libretto by Philippe QuinaultPhilippe QuinaultPhilippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...
, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - La Gerusalemme liberata (1687, Venice) composed by Carlo PallavicinoCarlo PallavicinoCarlo Pallavicino was an Italian composer.Pallavicino was born at Salò, Italy. From 1666 to 1673, he worked at the Dresden court, from 1674 to 1685, at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice and further in Dresden...
; libretto by Vincenzo GrimaniVincenzo GrimaniVincenzo Grimani was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and opera librettist.Grimani was born either in Venice or Mantua....
and Girolamo Frisari, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Gli avvenimenti di Erminia e di Clorinda (1693, Venice) composed by Carlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco Pollarolo was an Italian composer, chiefly of operas. Born into a musical family, he became the cathedral organist of his home town of Brescia. In the 1680s he began composing operas for performance in nearby Venice. He wrote a total of 85 of them as well as 13 oratorios...
; libretto by Giulio Cesare Corradi, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata (music lost) - Gli amori e incanti di Rinaldo con Armida (1694, RovigoRovigoRovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
) composed by Teofilo Orgiani; libretto by Giralomo Colatelli, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata (music lost)
18th century operas
- TancrèdeTancrèdeTancrède is a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts by composer André Campra and librettist Antoine Danchet, based on Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso....
(1702, Paris) by André CampraAndré CampraAndré Campra was a French composer and conductor.Campra was one of the leading French opera composers in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau. He wrote several tragédies en musique, but his chief claim to fame is as the creator of a new genre, opéra-ballet...
; libretto by Antoine DanchetAntoine DanchetAntoine Danchet was a French playwright, librettist and dramatic poet.-Biography:Danchet was born in Riom, in the Auvergne, France. Having been a professor of rhetoric at Chartres and then a tutor at Paris, Danchet gaveup teaching to write for the theatre. He wrote some opera libretti which, set...
, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida abbandonata (1707, Venice) composed by Giovanni Maria RuggieriGiovanni Maria RuggieriGiovanni Maria Ruggieri or Ruggeriwas a Baroque composer from Italy. His dates of birth and death are uncertain, but he may have been born about 1665 in Verona and died around 1725. He is known to have flourished from 1689–1720.-Life:...
; libretto by Francesco Silvani, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida al campo (1708, Venice) composed by Giuseppe Boniventi; libretto by Francesco Silvani after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
- RinaldoRinaldo (opera)Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's...
(1711, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) composed by George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
; libretto by Giacomo RossiGiacomo RossiGiacomo Rossi was an Italian 'poet', translator and librettist who settled in London early in the 18th century and wrote librettos for George Frideric Handel, between 1710 and 1729....
after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida regina di Damasco (1711, Verona) composed by Teofilo Orgiani (music lost)
- Armida in Damasco (1711, Venice) composed by Giacomo RampiniGiacomo RampiniGiacomo Rampini was an Italian composer of operas, oratorios, and sacred music. He was appointed the maestro di cappella of the Padua Cathedral in 1704, a position he held until his death at which time Andrea Adolfati took over the post...
; libretto by Grazio Braccioli - Armida al campo d'EgittoArmida al campo d'EgittoArmida al campo d'Egitto is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Giovanni Palazzo. It was first performed during the Carnival season of 1718 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice...
(1718, Venice) composed by Antonio VivaldiAntonio VivaldiAntonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
; libretto by Giovanni Palazzi, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Das eroberte Jerusalem, oder Armida und Rinaldo (1722, BraunschweigBraunschweigBraunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
) composed by Georg Caspar SchurmannGeorg Caspar SchürmannGeorg Caspar Schürmann was a German Baroque composer. His name also appears as Schurmann and in Hochdeutsch as Scheuermann.-Life:...
; libretto by Johann Samuel Müller, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida abbandonata (1725, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) composed by Antonio BioniAntonio BioniAntonio Bioni was an Italian composer best known for his operas.He was born in Venice.-Operas:*Climene *Mitridate *Cajo Mario *Udine...
; libretto by Francesco Silvani, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida al campo (1726, Breslau) composed by Antonio Bioni; libretto by Francesco Silvani, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
- Il trionfo di Armida (1726, Venice) composed by Tomaso AlbinoniTomaso AlbinoniTomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of which are regularly recorded.-Biography:Born in Venice, Republic of Venice, to Antonio Albinoni, a...
; libretto by Girolamo Colatelli, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - L'abbandono di Armida (1729, Venice) composed by Antonio Pollarolo; libretto by Giovanni Boldini, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
- Armida (1751, Berlin) composed by Carl Heinrich GraunCarl Heinrich GraunCarl Heinrich Graun was a German composer and tenor singer. Along with Johann Adolf Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time.-Biography:...
; libretto by Leopoldo di Villati, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - La Armida aplacada (1750, Madrid) composed by Giovanni Battista Mele; libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
- Armida (1761, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) composed by Tommaso TraettaTommaso TraettaTommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta was an Italian composer.-Biography:Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town near Bari, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, and scored a first success with his...
; libretto by Giacomo Durazzo after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida abbandonataArmida abbandonataArmida Abbandonata is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples on 30 May 1770. The young Wolfgang...
(1770, NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) composed by Niccolò JommelliNiccolò JommelliNiccolò Jommelli was an Italian composer. He was born in Aversa and died in Naples. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.-Early life:Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and...
; libretto by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - ArmidaArmida (Salieri)Armida is an operatic 'dramma per musica' by Antonio Salieri in three acts, set to a libretto by Marco Coltellini. The plot is based on the epic poem by Torquato Tasso, and Lully, Traetta, and Handel had already composed operas based on the situations that Tasso originally developed...
(1771, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) composed by Antonio SalieriAntonio SalieriAntonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
; libretto by Marco ColtelliniMarco ColtelliniMarco Coltellini was an Italian opera librettist and printer.He was probably born in Livorno and embarked on a career in the Church, but had to leave after fathering four daughters. He set up a printing shop in Livorno to publish the works of Enlightenment figures such as Francesco Algarotti and...
after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - ArmideArmide (Gluck)Armide is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, his fifth for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works. It was first performed in Paris at the Académie Royale on 23 September 1777....
(1777, Paris) composed by Christoph Willibald GluckChristoph Willibald GluckChristoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
; libretto by Philippe QuinaultPhilippe QuinaultPhilippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...
, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Armida (1777, Venice) composed by Gennaro AstaritaGennaro AstaritaGennaro Astarita was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. The place of his birth is unknown, although he was active in Naples for many years. He became the maestro di cappella there in 1770. He is also considered to have played an important role in the development of opera in Russia...
; libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca and Giacomo Durazzo, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - ArmidaArmida (Mysliveček)Armida is an opera in three acts by Josef Mysliveček set to a libretto by Gianambrogio Migliavacca based on an earlier libretto by Philippe Quinault. It is one of many operas set at the time of the Crusades that is based on characters and incidents from Torquato Tasso's epic poem La Gerusalemme...
(1780, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
) composed by Josef MyslivečekJosef MyslivecekJosef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music...
; libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca after Philippe Quinault - ArmidaArmida (Haydn)Armida, Hob. 28/12, is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn, set to a libretto based upon Torquato Tasso's poem Gerusalemme liberata . The first performance was 26 February 1784 and it went on to receive 54 performances from 1784 to 1788 at the Esterháza Court Theatre...
(1784, EszterházaEszterházaEsterháza is a palace in Fertőd, Hungary, built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Sometimes called the "Hungarian Versailles", it is Hungary's grandest Rococo edifice.-History:...
) composed by Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
; librettist unknown, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Richard Coeur-de-lionRichard Coeur-de-lion (opera)Richard Coeur-de-lion is an opéra comique, described as a comédie mise en musique, by the Belgian composer André Grétry. was by Michel-Jean Sedaine. The work is generally recognised as Grétry's masterpiece and one of the most important French opéras comiques...
(1784, Paris) composed by André Grétry; libretto by Michel-Jean SedaineMichel-Jean SedaineMichel-Jean Sedaine was a French dramatist, was born in Paris.- Biography :His father, who was an architect, died when Sedaine was quite young, leaving no fortune, and the boy began life as a mason's labourer...
, based on Richard I of EnglandRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, a central commander in the Third CrusadeThird CrusadeThe Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin... - Sofronia ed Olindo (1793, Naples) composed by Gaetano Andreozzi; libretto by Carlo Sernicola, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata
- Zaira (1797, Venice) composed by Sebastiano Nasolini; libretto by Mattia Butturini, after Voltaire's Zaïre
19th century operas
- La Zaira (1802, LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
) composed by Marcos Antônio PortugalMarcos PortugalMarcos António da Fonseca Portugal was a Portuguese classical composer, who achieved great international fame for his operas in Italian....
; libretto by Mattia Butturini, after Voltaire's Zaïre - Zaira ossia Il trionfo della religione composed by Vincenzo Federici; libretto by Mattia Butturini, after Voltaire's Zaïre
- Zaira (1805) composed by Peter WinterPeter WinterPeter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera....
; libretto by Filippo Pananti, after Voltaire's Zaïre - Gabriella di Vergy (1816, Naples) composed by Michele CarafaMichele CarafaMichele Enrico Carafa di Colobrano was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858...
; libretto by Andrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone Tottola was a prolific Italian librettist, best known for his work with Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini.It is not known when or where he was born...
, based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. - Fayel (1817, Florence) composed by Carlo CocciaCarlo CocciaCarlo Coccia was an Italian opera composer. He was known for the genre of opera semiseria.- Life and career :...
; libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. - ArmidaArmida (Rossini)Armida is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso.-Performance history:...
(1817, NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) composed by Gioaccino Rossini; libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Ricciardo e ZoraideRicciardo e ZoraideRicciardo e Zoraide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Berio de Salsa...
(1818, Naples) composed by Gioachino Rossini; libretto by Francesco Berio de Salsa, after Niccolò Forteguerri's epic poem, Il Ricciardetto - Pietro l'eremita (1822, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) composed by Gioachino Rossini; libretto by Andrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone Tottola was a prolific Italian librettist, best known for his work with Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini.It is not known when or where he was born...
, a version of Rossini's Mosè in EgittoMosè in EgittoMosè in Egitto is a three-act opera written by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on a play by Francesco Ringhieri, L'Osiride, of 1760....
with the plot changed to one based on Peter the HermitPeter the HermitPeter the Hermit was a priest of Amiens and a key figure during the First Crusade.-Before 1096:According to Anna Comnena, he had attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Seljuk Turks from reaching his goal and was tortured.Sources differ as to whether he... - Il crociato in EgittoIl crociato in EgittoIl crociato in Egitto is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March, 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti; the opera was probably the last ever written...
(1824, Venice) composed by Giacomo MeyerbeerGiacomo MeyerbeerGiacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
; libretto by Gaetano Rossi, after Jean-Antoine-Marie Monperlier's Les Chevaliers de Malte set in the Sixth CrusadeSixth CrusadeThe Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade. It involved very little actual fighting...
. - Gabriella di VergyGabriella di VergyGabriella di Vergy is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti written in 1826 and revised in 1838, from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy by Dormont De Belloy...
(1826, first performed 1869, Naples) composed by Gaetano DonizettiGaetano DonizettiDomenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
; libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. - Le comte OryLe comte OryLe comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X...
(1828, Paris) composed by Gioacchino RossiniGioacchino RossiniGioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
; libretto by Eugène ScribeEugène ScribeAugustin Eugène Scribe , was a French dramatist and librettist. He is best known for the perfection of the so-called "well-made play" . This dramatic formula was a mainstay of popular theater for over 100 years.-Biography:...
and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-PoirsonCharles-Gaspard Delestre-PoirsonCharles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson Auguste-Simon-Jean-Chrysostome Poirson, known as Delestre-Poirson was a French playwright and theatre director.... - Gabriella di Vergy (1828, LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
) composed by Saverio MercadanteSaverio MercadanteGiuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
; libretto by Antonio Profumo, based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy (1777) by Dormont De Belloy - ZairaZaira (opera)Zaira is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini set to a libretto by Felice Romani which was based on Voltaire's 1732 tragedy, Zaïre. The story takes place in the time of the Crusades and the opera's plot involves the heroine, Zaira, struggling between her Christian...
(1829, ParmaParmaParma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
) composed by Vincenzo BelliniVincenzo BelliniVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
; libretto by Felice RomaniFelice RomaniFelice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
, after Voltaire's Zaïre - Zaira (1829) composed by Alessandro Gandini; libretto by Felice Romani, after Voltaire's Zaïre
- Il talismano, ovvero La terza crociata in Palestina (1829, Milan) composed by Giovanni PaciniGiovanni PaciniGiovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...
; libretto by Gaetano Barbieri, after Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Talisman - Der Templer und die Jüdin (The TemplarKnights TemplarThe Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
and the Jewess) (1829, LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
) composed by Heinrich August Marschner, libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, after Sir Walter Scott's novel, IvanhoeIvanhoeIvanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while... - Zaira (1831, Naples) composed by Saverio MercadanteSaverio MercadanteGiuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
; libretto by Felice Romani, after Voltaire's Zaïre - Emma d'Antiochia (1834, Venice) composed by Saverio MercadanteSaverio MercadanteGiuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
; libretto by Felice Romani - I Lombardi alla prima crociataI Lombardi alla prima crociataI Lombardi alla prima crociata is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an epic poem by Tommaso Grossi. Its first performance was given at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 11 February 1843...
(1843, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
) composed by Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
; libretto by Temistocle SoleraTemistocle SoleraTemistocle Solera was an Italian opera composer and librettist.He was born at Ferrara. He received his education at the Imperial College in Vienna and at the University of Pavia. Throughout his life he actively participated in anti-Austrian resistance. At one point, he was incarcerated for his...
, after Tommaso GrossiTommaso GrossiTommaso Grossi , Lombard poet and novelist, was born in Bellano, beside the Lake of Como.He took his degree in law at Pavia in 1810, and proceeded thence to Milan to exercise his profession; but the Austrian government, suspecting his loyalty, interfered with his prospects, and in consequence...
's 1829 epic poem of the same name - Die Kreuzfahrer (The Crusaders) (1844, CasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
) composed by Louis SpohrLouis SpohrLouis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
; libretto by Louis Spohr, after August von KotzebueAugust von KotzebueAugust Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
's play of the same name - Richard en Palestine (1844, Paris) composed by Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
; libretto by Paul FoucherPaul FoucherPaul-Henri Foucher was a French playwright, theatre and music critic, political journalist, and novelist.-Early career:...
based on Richard I of EnglandRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
in the Third CrusadeThird CrusadeThe Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
- Zaira (1845, ModenaModenaModena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
) composed by Antonio Mami; libretto by Felice Romani, after Voltaire's Zaïre - JérusalemJérusalemJérusalem is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, set to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz which was partly translated and adapted from Verdi's original 1843 Italian opera, I Lombardi alla prima crociata...
(1847, Paris) composed by Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
; libretto by Alphonse RoyerAlphonse RoyerAlphonse Royer, was a French author, dramatist and theatre manager, most remembered today for having written the librettos for Gaetano Donizetti's opera La favorite and Giuseppe Verdi's Jérusalem...
and Gustave Vaëz - AroldoAroldoAroldo is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on and adapted from their earlier 1850 collaboration, Stiffelio...
(1857, RiminiRiminiRimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
) composed by Giuseppe Verdi; libretto by Francesco Maria PiaveFrancesco Maria PiaveFrancesco Maria Piave was an Italian opera librettist who was born in Murano in the lagoon of Venice, during the brief Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. His career spanned over twenty years working with many of the significant composers of his day... - Il talismano (1874, London) composed by Michael Balfe as The Knight of the Leopard and completed after his death by Michael CostaMichael Costa (conductor)Sir Michael Andrew Angus Costa was an Italian-born conductor and composer who achieved success in England.-Biography:He was born in Naples as Michaele Andrea Agniello Costa, to a family, according to some, of Sephardic stock...
; libretto by Giuseppe Zaffira after Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Talisman - Zaïre (1887, LilleLilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
) composed by Charles Edouard Lefebvre; libretto by Paul Collin, after Voltaire's Zaïre - Zaïre (1890, Paris), composed by Paul Véronge de la Nux; libretto by Édouard BlauÉdouard BlauÉdouard Blau, born Blois 30 May 1836, died Paris, 7 January 1906) was a French dramatist and opera librettist. He was a cousin of Alfred Blau, another librettist of the same period....
and Louis Besson, after Voltaire's Zaïre
20th century operas
- FlammenFlammenFlammen is a one-act opera by Franz Schreker, on a libretto by Dora Leen, pseudonym of Dora Pollak .-Composition history:...
(1902, Vienna) composed by Franz SchrekerFranz SchrekerFranz Schreker was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality , timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and...
; libretto by Dora Leen - ArmidaArmida (Dvorák)Armida is an opera by Antonín Dvořák in four acts, set to a libretto by Jaroslav Vrchlický that was originally based on Torquato Tasso's epic La Gerusalemme liberata...
(1904, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) composed by Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
; libretto by Jaroslav VrchlickýJaroslav VrchlickýJaroslav Vrchlický was one of the greatest Czech lyrical poets. He was born Emil Frida, Vrchlický being a pseudonym.He also wrote epic poetry, plays, prose and literary essays and translated widely from various languages, introducing e.g. Dante, Goethe, Shelley, Baudelaire, Poe, and Whitman to...
, after Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - Castle AgrazantCastle Agrazant (opera)Castle Agrazant is an opera composed by Ralph Lyford. It premiered on 29 April 1926 with Forrest Lamont performing, in Cincinnati. Castle Agrazant won a Bispham Memorial Medal Award in 1926....
(1929, Cincinnati) composed by Ralph LyfordRalph LyfordRalph Lyford was an American composer and conductor. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he began studies at age 12 and 6 years later graduated from Boston's New England Conservatory of Music and rose to prominence as the managing director of the Cincinnati Opera.He was married to Ella Gillis, a...
; libretto by Ralph Lyford set in the aftermath of the Ninth CrusadeNinth CrusadeThe Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. It took place in 1271–1272....
21st century operas
- L'amour de loinL'amour de loinL’amour de loin is the first opera by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho from a five act French libretto by Amin Maalouf...
(2000, SalzburgSalzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
) composed by Kaija SaariahoKaija SaariahoKaija Saariaho is a Finnish composer.Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by...
; libretto by Amin MaaloufAmin MaaloufAmin Maalouf , born 25 February 1949 in Beirut, is a Lebanese-born French author. Although his native language is Arabic, he writes in French, and his works have been translated into many languages. He received the Prix Goncourt in 1993 for his novel The Rock of Tanios...
, loosely based on the life of the troubador, Jaufre RudelJaufré RudelJaufre Rudel was the Prince of Blaye and a troubadour of the early–mid 12th century, who probably died during the Second Crusade, in or after 1147...
, who died during the Second CrusadeSecond CrusadeThe Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098... - ArmidaArmida (Weir)Armida is an opera by British composer Judith Weir. It premiered on 25 December 2005 as a television broadcast on the UK station, Channel 4 which had commissioned the work...
(2005, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television) composed by Judith WeirJudith WeirJudith Weir CBE, is a British composer.-Biography:Her music has been appreciated by audiences and critics alike. She trained with John Tavener while still at school and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976...
; libretto by Judith Weir, loosely based on Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata - The Children's Crusade (2009, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
) composed by R. Murray SchaferR. Murray SchaferRaymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...
; libretto by R. Murray Schafer, based on the 13th century Children's CrusadeChildren's CrusadeThe Children's Crusade is the name given to a variety of fictional and factual events which happened in 1212 that combine some or all of these elements: visions by a French or German boy; an intention to peacefully convert Muslims in the Holy Land to Christianity; bands of children marching to...
Sources
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, 2007. Accessed 18 September 2009 - Bourne, Joyce and Kennedy, Michael, Who's Who in Opera: A Guide to Opera Characters, Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-280054-X. (Accessed online at www.answers.com 16 May 2009.)
- Budden, Julian, The Operas of Verdi: From Oberto to Rigoletto, Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-19-816261-8
- Carlson, Marvin A., Voltaire and the Theatre of the Eighteenth Century, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. ISBN 0313303029
- Casaglia, Gherardo, "Zaïre", "Tasso", Almanacco Amadeus (in Italian). Accessed 16 May 2009.
- Charlton, David, The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 381. ISBN 0-521-64683-9
- Grove, George (ed.), A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (A.D. 1450–1889) Vol. 3, Macmillan & Co., London, 1900.
- Gutman, Robert W., Mozart: A Cultural Biography, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001. ISBN 0156011719
- Hill, John Walter, Roman monody, cantata, and opera from the circles around Cardinal Montalto, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-19-816613-3
- Holden, Amanda, (ed.) The New Penguin Opera Guide, Penguin Putnam, 2001 ISBN 0-14-051475-9
- Iitti, Sanna, "L'amour de loin: Kaija Saariaho's first opera", Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music, 8 , 2002, nos 1–2, pp. 9–14. Accessed 16 May 2009.
- Jeffries, Stuart, "Desert bloom", The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 1 December 2005. Accessed 18 May 2009. - Jellinek, George, History through the opera glass: from the rise of Caesar to the fall of Napoleon, Pro/Am Music Resources, 1994. ISBN 0-912483-90-3
- Le Tellier, Robert Ignatius, The operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2006. ISBN 0-8386-4093-1
- Nordisk Netværk For Tidlig Musikdramatik, "Early Operas 1590–1690" (sourced from Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy). Accessed 16 May 2009.
- Osborne, Richard, Rossini: his life and works, Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-19-518129-8
- Pike, Robert E., "Fact and Fiction in Zaïre", Proceedings of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Jun., 1936), pp. 436–439
- Pirrotta, NinoNino PirrottaNino Pirrotta was an Italian musicologist of international renown who specialized in Italian music from the late medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque eras. In 1931 he earned a degree in art history from the University of Florence after having already earned a diploma in organ performance...
and Povoledo, Elena, Music and theatre from Poliziano to Monteverdi, Cambridge University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-521-23259-7 - Polidoro, Federigo, Chapter V. "Il Tasso e le composizioni musicali ispirate dalle sue opere", Torquato Tasso a Napoli (Bartolommeo Capasso (ed.), Francesco Giannini & Figli, 1895
- Rolland, Romain, Some Musicians of Former Days (originally published 1915), Ayer Publishing, 1977. ISBN 0-8369-0831-7
- Selfridge-Field, Eleanor, A New Chronology of Venetian Opera and Related Genres, 1660–1760, Stanford University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-8047-4437-8
- Siberry, Elizabeth, "Nineteenth century perspectives on the First Crusade" in Marcus Graham Bull and Norman Housley (eds.) The Experience of Crusading, Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-521-81168-6
- Smither, Howard E., A history of the oratorio, UNC Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8078-1274-9
- Sonneck, Oscar and Schatz, Albert, Catalogue of opera librettos printed before 1800, Library of Congress (Music Division), 1914. Accessed 16 May 2009.
- Stafford, William C., A History of Music, Constable & Co., 1830
- Tasso, Torquato, Jerusalem delivered (La Gerusalemme liberata translated and annotated by Anthony M. EsolenAnthony M. EsolenAnthony M. Esolen is a professor of English at Providence College and noted translator of classic works, as well as a popular writer for magazines like the Claremont Review and Touchstone, of which he is a senior editor. He has translated Dante's Divine Comedy, Lucretius' On the Nature of Things,...
), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. ISBN 0801863236 - Teasdale, May Silva, 20th Century Opera at Home & Abroad: 1900 through Season 1937–1938, E.P. Dutton & Company, 1938, p. 221.
- Thicknesse, Robert, "Emma d'Antiochia", The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 28 October 2003. Accessed 16 May 2009. - Weber, Caroline, "Voltaire's Zaïre: Fantasies of Infidelity, Ideologies of Faith", South Central Review, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Summer, 2004), pp. 42–62
- Whenham, John, "Aria in the Madrigals of Giovanni Rovetta" in Iain Fenlon and Tim Carter (eds.), Con che soavità: studies in Italian opera, song, and dance, 1580–1740, Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-19-816370-3
External links
- La Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso in the original Italian (full text)
- Jerusalem Delivered an English translation by Edward Fairfax (edited by Henry Morley) of Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata, The Colonial Press, 1901 (full text)
- Zaïre by VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
in the original French (full text) - Zara: A Tragedy, an English translation and adaptation by Aaron Hill of Voltaire's Zaïre, John Bell, 1797 (full text)