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Il corsaro
The Corsair

[Melodramma tragico in three acts] by
FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE

First performance:
Trieste, Teatro Grande, 25 October 1848

Critical Edition by
ELIZABETH HUDSON

The University of Chicago Press 1998

CHARACTERS:
CORRADO, captain of the pirates, tenor
GIOVANNI, a pirate, bass
MEDORA, Corrado's young lover, soprano
GULNARA, favorite slave of Seid, soprano
SEID, Pasha of Coron, baritone
SELIMO, an agha (court official), tenor
African eunuch, tenor
A slave, tenor
ANSELMO, pirate, silent
Mixed chorus of pirates, guards, Turks, slaves, odalisques, Medora's handmaidens

The scene is set on an island in the Aegean Sea and in the city of Coron in the early 19th century.

Instrumentation: Piccolo, Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Cimbasso, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Triangle, Cannon, Harp, Strings
Performance time: 1h 30m

Although Verdi began sketching the music for Il corsaro in 1846, a lengthy illness forced him to postpone further work. He finally completed the score in early 1848, but the revolutions of that year delayed its first performance. When it finally premiered on 25 October at the Teatro Grande of Trieste Verdi was in Paris and did not participate as usual in the production, which was poorly received. Though more successful in subsequent stagings, Il corsaro was soon eclipsed by the operas of the noted "trilogy" and fell from the repertory.

The full score of Il corsaro, published here for the first time, as well as recent revivals based on pre-publication proofs of this critical edition, reveal the work to be far more rewarding than even Verdi himself would later admit. Showing the gradual consolidation of Verdi's mature style through his contacts with French opera, Il corsaro well repays the renewed attention it is receiving.

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