FULL IL CORSARO Evanston IL 2022 Jose Simerilla Romero, Christine Arand, Franco Pomponi, Alejandra Sandoval
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Il corsaro
- Composer: Verdi Giuseppe
- Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Cahn Auditorium at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, Opera Festival of Chicago
- Recorded: July 24, 2022
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Jose Simerilla Romero, Christine Arand, Franco Pomponi, Alejandra Sandoval, Frank De Vincentis, Benjamin Burney, André De Mesquita
- Conductor: Emanuele Andrizzi
- Orchestra:
- Chorus Master: Reid Taylor
- Stage Director: Amy Hutchison
- Stage Designer: Eleanor Kahn
- Costume Designer:
- Lighting Designer: Eric Watkins
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Opera Festival of Chicago
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Synopsis from Wikipedia:
Historical context
After conquering Constantinople and much of the Balkans in 1453 , the Ottoman Empire initially held supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean. After the end of the Spanish Reconquista under Ferdinand and Isabella , various groups of corsairs emerged from the expellees and refugees in the time of Charles V , who settled on the North African coast. After submitting to the Turkish sultan in 1529 , they were feared pirates in the western Mediterranean until the 19th century, and they also engaged in the slave tradeoperated. In the opera, on the other hand, the corsairs are more like pirates and bitter enemies of the Muslims . They have their headquarters on an island in the Aegean and support the Christian side. The opera is set in the 19th century, a more precise chronological classification is not possible.
First act
First picture: Corsair island in the Aegean Sea, bay surrounded by steep cliffs
After a short prelude, the corsairs sing about their lawless life. Corrado, a man of noble birth who has joined the pirates, receives a message from the Greek resistance movement that the Ottoman fleet has anchored at Coron . He decides to take command himself and fight against the ” Musulman “, Pascha Seid.
Second picture: Medora’s chamber in an old tower
Medora is plagued by premonitions and bids farewell to Corrado. When a cannon shot rings out from the harbor, warning her to leave, she tries in vain to hold Corrado back.
Act Two
First image: Room in Seid’s harem
A chorus of odalisques sings of Gulnara’s happiness that she is the darling of Pasha Seid. Gulnara, on the other hand, despises Seid and longs for her homeland. A eunuch brings her the news that the pasha is expecting her.
Second image: Coron port beach, pavilion, view of the Ottoman fleet
Ottoman soldiers and leaders chorus in praise of Allah and prematurely celebrate the victory over the corsairs. Seid, who has arrived, is informed by a slave that a dervish has escaped from the hands of the corsairs. This is none other than Corrado in disguise, who appears to be asking Seid for protection. In the finale that followed, a fire set by the pirates broke out in the Ottoman fleet, which quickly spread to the haremencroaches. You recognize Corrado as a spy. He throws off his disguise and incites his followers to slaughter the Muslims. When Gulnara and others cry out for help from the harem, Corrado rushes to the rescue with the pirates and saves the women. The Ottomans, meanwhile, are able to regroup and surround the pirates, few of whom escape. Corrado is forced to surrender, and Seid condemns him to an agonizing death. The Odalisks and Gulnara, who has long loved her savior, beg for mercy.
Third Act
First image: Seid’s chambers
Seid expresses his satisfaction that Corrado is about to die, but suspects that his beloved Gulnara has fallen in love with him. In a duet, Gulnara pleads with Seid for Corrado’s life in vain.
Second picture: interior of the prison tower
Corrado, hung with chains, ponders his impending death and Medora’s misfortune. Gulnara visits the prisoner and offers to help him escape. She has already bribed the guards, and a fast ship would await them both on the beach. When Corrado refuses, she rushes off, dagger in hand. Upon her return, she tells Corrado that she murdered Seid in her sleep. Both flee to the waiting ship.
Third scene: corsair island, rocky bay, as at the beginning of the opera
Medora has learned from the returning pirates that Corrado has been captured. She believes in his death and in her desperation took poison to at least be with him in death. The ship with Corrado and Gulnara on board has now arrived. When they meet again, Medora admits to Corrado that she is going to die. Medora thanks Gulnara for saving Corrado before dying in his arms. Corrado throws himself into the sea. Gulnara collapses.