List of operas List of operas set in the Crusades




1 list of operas

1.1 17th-century operas
1.2 18th-century operas
1.3 19th-century operas
1.4 20th-century operas
1.5 21st-century operas





list of operas

clorinda dying in tancredi s arms, 1589 edition of tasso s la gerusalemme liberata


the earliest work on list, rinaldo innamorato francesca caccini, dates 1623 when opera still in infancy , performed in private palaces or court theatres. during period operas co-existed other forms of music drama featured virtuoso singing – intermedio (a short spectacle performed between acts of play own story-line) , madrigale concertato (literally concerted madrigal , dramatic composition voices , instruments, performed semi-staged). several works in genres based on tasso s la gerusalemme liberata, including:



a set of intermedi composed cesare marotta on imprisonment, enchantment , liberation of rinaldo (first performed in rome in 1612)
giovanni rovetta s le lagrime di erminia (published in 1629)
monteverdi s, il combattimento di tancredi e clorinda (first performed in venice in 1624)
domenico mazzocchi s olindo e sofronia (published in 1637)

the operas below listed in chronological order date of first performance. unavailable, or opera premiered many years after composer s death, date of composition given.


17th-century operas

rinaldo innamorato (1623, florence) composed francesca caccini; libretto after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata (music lost)
erminia sul giordano (1633, rome) composed michelangelo rossi; libretto giulio rospigliosi, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
l armida (1639, venice) composed benedetto ferrari; libretto benedetto ferrari, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
l amore trionfante dello sdegno (1641, ferrara) composed marco marazzoli; libretto after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armide (1686, paris) composed jean-baptiste lully; libretto philippe quinault, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
la gerusalemme liberata (1687, venice) composed carlo pallavicino; libretto vincenzo grimani , girolamo frisari, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
gli avvenimenti di erminia e di clorinda (1693, venice) composed carlo francesco pollarolo; libretto giulio cesare corradi, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata (music lost)
gli amori e incanti di rinaldo con armida (1694, rovigo) composed teofilo orgiani; libretto giralomo colatelli, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata (music lost)

18th-century operas

tancrède (1702, paris) andré campra; libretto antoine danchet, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata

a performance of lully s opera armide in salle du palais-royal in 1761



armida abbandonata (1707, venice) composed giovanni maria ruggieri; libretto francesco silvani, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida al campo (1708, venice) composed giuseppe boniventi; libretto francesco silvani after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
rinaldo (1711, london) composed george frideric handel; libretto giacomo rossi after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida regina di damasco (1711, verona) composed teofilo orgiani (music lost)
armida in damasco (1711, venice) composed giacomo rampini; libretto grazio braccioli
armida al campo d egitto (1718, venice) composed antonio vivaldi; libretto giovanni palazzi, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
das eroberte jerusalem, oder armida und rinaldo (1722, braunschweig) composed georg caspar schurmann; libretto johann samuel müller, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida abbandonata (1725, prague) composed antonio bioni; libretto francesco silvani, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida al campo (1726, breslau) composed antonio bioni; libretto francesco silvani, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
il trionfo di armida (1726, venice) composed tomaso albinoni; libretto girolamo colatelli, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
l abbandono di armida (1729, venice) composed antonio pollarolo; libretto giovanni boldini, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida (1751, berlin) composed carl heinrich graun; libretto leopoldo di villati, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
la armida aplacada (1750, madrid) composed giovanni battista mele; libretto giovanni ambrogio migliavacca, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida (1761, vienna) composed tommaso traetta; libretto giacomo durazzo after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida abbandonata (1770, naples) composed niccolò jommelli; libretto francesco saverio de rogatis, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida (1771, vienna) composed antonio salieri; libretto marco coltellini after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armide (1777, paris) composed christoph willibald gluck; libretto philippe quinault, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida (1777, venice) composed gennaro astarita; libretto giovanni ambrogio migliavacca , giacomo durazzo, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
armida (1780, milan) composed josef mysliveček; libretto giovanni ambrogio migliavacca after philippe quinault
armida (1784, eszterháza) composed joseph haydn; librettist unknown, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
richard coeur-de-lion (1784, paris) composed andré grétry; libretto michel-jean sedaine, based on richard of england, central commander in third crusade

henriette méric-lalande created title role in bellini s zaira , palmide in meyerbeer s il crociato in egitto



sofronia ed olindo (1793, naples) composed gaetano andreozzi; libretto carlo sernicola, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
zaira (1797, venice) composed sebastiano nasolini; libretto mattia butturini, after voltaire s zaïre

19th-century operas

la zaira (1802, lisbon) composed marcos antônio portugal; libretto mattia butturini, after voltaire s zaïre
zaira ossia il trionfo della religione composed vincenzo federici; libretto mattia butturini, after voltaire s zaïre
zaira (1805) composed peter winter; libretto filippo pananti, after voltaire s zaïre
gabriella di vergy (1816, naples) composed michele carafa; libretto andrea leone tottola, based on tragedy gabrielle de vergy (1777) dormont de belloy.
fayel (1817, florence) composed carlo coccia; libretto andrea leone tottola, based on tragedy gabrielle de vergy (1777) dormont de belloy.
armida (1817, naples) composed gioaccino rossini; libretto giovanni schmidt, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
ricciardo e zoraide (1818, naples) composed gioachino rossini; libretto francesco berio de salsa, after niccolò forteguerri s epic poem, il ricciardetto
pietro l eremita (1822, london) composed gioachino rossini; libretto andrea leone tottola, version of rossini s mosè in egitto plot changed 1 based on peter hermit
il crociato in egitto (1824, venice) composed giacomo meyerbeer; libretto gaetano rossi, after jean-antoine-marie monperlier s les chevaliers de malte set in sixth crusade.
gabriella di vergy (1826, first performed 1869, naples) composed gaetano donizetti; libretto andrea leone tottola, based on tragedy gabrielle de vergy (1777) dormont de belloy.
le comte ory (1828, paris) composed gioacchino rossini; libretto eugène scribe , charles-gaspard delestre-poirson
gabriella di vergy (1828, lisbon) composed saverio mercadante; libretto antonio profumo, based on tragedy gabrielle de vergy (1777) dormont de belloy
zaira (1829, parma) composed vincenzo bellini; libretto felice romani, after voltaire s zaïre
zaira (1829) composed alessandro gandini; libretto felice romani, after voltaire s zaïre
il talismano, ovvero la terza crociata in palestina (1829, milan) composed giovanni pacini; libretto gaetano barbieri, after sir walter scott s novel, talisman
der templer und die jüdin (the templar , jewess) (1829, leipzig) composed heinrich august marschner, libretto wilhelm august wohlbrück, after sir walter scott s novel, ivanhoe
zaira (1831, naples) composed saverio mercadante; libretto felice romani, after voltaire s zaïre
ivanhoe (1832, venice) composed giovanni pacini; libretto gaetano rossi
emma d antiochia (1834, venice) composed saverio mercadante; libretto felice romani
i lombardi alla prima crociata (1843, milan) composed giuseppe verdi; libretto temistocle solera, after tommaso grossi s 1829 epic poem of same name
die kreuzfahrer (the crusaders) (1844, cassel) composed louis spohr; libretto louis spohr, after august von kotzebue s play of same name
richard en palestine (1844, paris) composed adolphe adam; libretto paul foucher based on richard of england in third crusade

jaufre rudel dying in arms of hodierna of tripoli (13th-century manuscript)



zaira (1845, modena) composed antonio mami; libretto felice romani, after voltaire s zaïre
the crusaders (1846, london) composed julius benedict; libretto alfred bunn , jules-henri vernoy de saint-georges, conflates events first crusade (by way of tasso s la gerusalemme liberata) , third crusade.
jérusalem (1847, paris) composed giuseppe verdi; libretto alphonse royer , gustave vaëz
aroldo (1857, rimini) composed giuseppe verdi; libretto francesco maria piave
il talismano (1874, london) composed michael balfe knight of leopard , completed after death michael costa; libretto giuseppe zaffira after sir walter scott s novel, talisman
zaïre (1887, lille) composed charles edouard lefebvre; libretto paul collin, after voltaire s zaïre
zaïre (1890, paris), composed paul véronge de la nux; libretto Édouard blau , louis besson, after voltaire s zaïre

20th-century operas

flammen (1902, vienna) composed franz schreker; libretto dora leen
armida (1904, prague) composed antonín dvořák; libretto jaroslav vrchlický, after tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
castle agrazant (1929, cincinnati) composed ralph lyford; libretto ralph lyford set in aftermath of ninth crusade

21st-century operas

l amour de loin (2000, salzburg) composed kaija saariaho; libretto amin maalouf, loosely based on life of troubador, jaufre rudel, died during second crusade
armida (2005, channel 4 television) composed judith weir; libretto judith weir, loosely based on tasso s la gerusalemme liberata
the children s crusade (2009, toronto) composed r. murray schafer; libretto r. murray schafer, based on 13th-century children s crusade




^ hill (1997) pp. 258–260
^ whenham pp. 135–136
^ smither (1977) p. 158
^ rolland (1915/1977) p. 67
^ chief source 17th- , early-18th-century operas nordisk netværk tidlig musikdramatik, supplemented selfridge-field (2007) , sonneck , schatz (1914). unless indicated otherwise, source later operas casaglia.
^ badolato (2007) pp. 29–30 (note 60)
^ work later performed under variations of title (1698, treviso , udine) under title l onor al cimento (1702/3, venice). see selfridge-field (2007) p. 255
^ selfridge-field (2007) p. 390
^ osborne (2007) pp. 271–272
^ london s distaste staged biblical operas @ time, led change of plot. more on differences between pietro l eremita , mosè in egitto , critical reception, see siberry (2003) pp. 289–290
^ le tellier (2006) p. 88
^ holden (2001) p. 227
^ osborne (2007) pp. 106–107
^ thicknesse (28 october 2003)
^ budden (1992) p. 114
^ grove (1900) p. 660
^ hubbard , krehbiel (2004) p. 414
^ partly translated , adapted solera s libretto verdi s lombardi alla prima crociata. see budden (1992) p. 135
^ aroldo reworking , expansion of verdi , piave s 1850 stiffelio. both share plot of man returning long journey find wife has been unfaithful. mid-19th-century protestant minister, stiffelio, became aroldo (harold), english knight returning crusades. see holden (2001) pp. 997–998
^ charlton (2003) p. 381.
^ *teasdale (1938) p. 221
^ iitti (2002) pp. 9–14
^ jeffries (1 december 2005)
^ world premiere of children s crusade took place on 5 june 2009 during toronto s luminato festival. see sound streams, co-commissioned opera luminato festival.






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