''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (''Ricciardo and Zoraide'') is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian

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 ...

Francesco Berio di Salsa Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

. The text is based on cantos XIV and XV of '' Il Ricciardetto'', an epic poem by

Niccolò Forteguerri Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The fe ...

Performance history

''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 3 December 1818. It continued to be performed until 1846 but fell out of favor afterwards and was not performed in public again until its revival at the

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

Rossini Opera Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to r ...

in 1990. The Rossini Opera Festival featured a new production of the opera in 2018. Among other performances, the opera received a production at the Rossini in Wildbad festival in 2013.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: the city of Dongola in ancient Nubia. :Time: The time of the Crusades The Nubian King Agorante, who is infatuated with Zoraide, has defeated her father, Ircano and captured her. Ricciardo, a Christian knight and Zoraide's lover, accompanies an emissary to plead for her release. Agorante's jealous wife, Zomira, arranges the capture of Ricciardo as well and plots to have the young lovers executed to protect her position as Queen. The opera ends with an army of Christian knights rescuing Ricciardo and Zoraide. Ricciardo spares Agorante's life.

Recordings

References

Notes Sources * *Farr, Robert
Recording review: ''Ricciardo e Zoraide''

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whit ...

, ''Music Web International''. *

Gossett, Philip Philip Gossett (September 27, 1941 – June 12, 2017) was an American musicologist and historian, and Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago. His lifelong interest in 19th-century Italian opera bega ...

; Brauner, Patricia (2001), "''Ricciardo e Zoraide''" in Holden, Amanda (ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam. * Osborne, Charles (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini'', London: Methuen; Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. *Osborne, Richard (1990), ''Rossini'', Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. *Osborne, Richard (1998), ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'', in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, (Ed.), '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. Three, p. 1312. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *Osborne, Richard (2018)
Recording review: ''Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide''
Gramophone (magazine). *Servadio, Gaia (2003), ''Rossini'', New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. *Steen, Michael and Richard Osborne, '' The Lives and Times of the Great Composers: His Life and Works'', Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 271–278. *

Toye, Francis John Francis Toye (27 January 1883 – 13 October 1964) was an English music critic, teacher, writer and educational administrator. After early efforts as a composer and novelist, and service in naval intelligence in World War I, he became music ...

(re-issue 1987), ''Rossini: The Man and His Music'', Dover Publications, 1987.

External links

Libretto in Italian
Retrieved 13 December 2012 {{Authority control Operas by Gioachino Rossini Italian-language operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Teatro San Carlo Operas set in Africa