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Der Italienerin in Algier
(L’Italiana in Algeri / The Italian Girl in Algiers) (1813)Libretto by Angelo Anelli; German version and musical arrangement by Hugo Röhr; new edition and arrangment based on Röhr version and original sources by Robert Werner (G)
colS,lyrS,charA,T,lyrT,lyrBar,buffoB; chorus;
1(=picc,2picc ad lib).2.2.2(II ad lib)-2.2.0.0-timp(=BD)-hpcd-strings
Abbreviations (PDF)
Bote & Bock
Teatro San Benedetto, Venice
Company: Unknown
Freiburg im Breisgau
Company: Unknown
| MUSTAPHA, bey of Algier | Buffo Bass |
| ELVIRA, his wife | Lyric Soprano |
| ZULIMA, her slave and friend | Character Contralto |
| ALI, Mustapha's bodyguard | Lyric Baritone |
| LINDORO, a young Italian, favourite slave and prisoner of Mustapha | Lyric Tenor |
| ISABELLA, an Italian lady | Coloratura Soprano |
| TADDEO, her companion | Tenor |
| Keepers of the harem, Algerian corsars, European slaves, Women of the seraglio, Sailors |
Algeria in the 17th century
Mustapha, the bey of Algier, has had enough of his first wife Elvira. He longs for something new, different, and freshly exciting. Why not a hot-blooded Italian for a change? After all, he has heard that they are the best lovers of the world. Hardly has he issued the order when Ali arrives, with Isabella and her companion Taddeo who he has discovered shipwrecked on the beach. Isabella had courageously and intrepidly gone to search for her lover Lindoro, who had been kidnapped by pirates, and is overjoyed to find him a slave in the bey's retinue. Now Mustapha has to be outwitted, and in this the Italians are helped by his vanity and naivety. And, a plate of pasta can work wonders in the desert!