''L'ebreo'' (The Hebrew) is an 1855

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Giuseppe Apolloni Giuseppe Apolloni (8 April 1822 – 31 December 1889) was an Italian composer born in Vicenza, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the m ...

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Antonio Boni adapted from

Edward Bulwer Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secre ...

's novella ''

Leila; or, The Siege of Granada ''Leila; or, The Siege of Granada'' is a historical romance novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton published in 1838. The novel is set in Granada, Spain at the end of the Middle Ages — beginning in the summer of 1491. It was originally published in an ...

'' of 1838. It premiered on 25 January 1855 at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

, Venice.Udo Bermbach ''Verdi Theater'' 3476036790 "1855 komponierte Apolloni ein hochpolitisches Werk zur Frage der Judenemanzipation, ''L'Ebreo'', "

Plot

The setting is the

siege of Granada The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It e ...

in the last years of the reconquest of Spain by Ferdinand of Aragon and

Isabella of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

. Issachar, the titular Hebrew, is the magician of muslim King

Boabdil Abu Abdallah Muhammad XII ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الثاني عشر, Abū ʿAbdi-llāh Muḥammad ath-thānī ʿashar) (c. 1460–1533), known in Europe as Boabdil (a Spanish rendering of the name ''Abu Abdallah''), was the ...

, whom he betrays hoping to obtain freedom under the Spanish for his people. His daughter, Leila is in love with his enemy, the general Adèl-Muza. Issachar joins the Spanish but the Inquisition sentence him to the stake. He escapes by setting fire to the Spanish camp. Leila is taken to Ferdinand and Isabelle, who seek to convert her. At her baptism of the girl her father appears and stabs her, as she dies Adèl-Muza then reveals himself. Both the magician and the Moorish general are sentenced to the stake.

Recordings

Simone Alaimo Simone Alaimo (born 3 February 1950) is an Italian bass-baritone. He is particularly known for his performances of the ''bel canto'' repertoire. Life A native of Villabate, Alaimo studied at the Palermo Conservatory and then the L'Accademia di ...

(Issàchar), Fernanda Costa (Leila), Dino Di Domenico (Adèl-Muza), Armando Caforio (Ferdinando), Paola Bidinelli (Isabella), Francesco Piccoli (Boabdil, Gran Giudice) Orchestra Sinfonica di San Remo e Coro 'Francesco Cilea' di Reggio Calabria cond. Massimo De Bernart, Bongiovanni 1989

References

External links

Libretto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebreo, L 1855 operas Italian-language operas Operas set in the 15th century Operas set in Spain Operas