voltaire, author of zaïre. in addition many other plays have inspired opera librettists, voltaire wrote several libretti himself, notably rameau s le temple de la gloire
voltaire s zaïre (the tragedy of zara) given first public performance on 13 august 1732 comédie française @ théâtre de la rue des fossés saint-germain. great success paris audiences , marked turning away tragedies caused fatal flaw in protagonist s character ones based on pathos. tragic fate of heroine caused not through fault of own, jealousy of lover , intolerance of fellow christians. voltaire ostensibly set play in epoch of saint louis . however, plot , characters largely fiction. historical characters alluded to, members of lusignan , châtillon families, related events of crusades not alive @ time of louis ix. characters names in original french are:
orosmane, (osman) sultan of jerusalem
zaïre, (zara) christian slave kidnapped baby when cesarea sacked muslim armies , lover of orosamane
nérestan, french knight, , unbeknownst zaïre, brother
lusignan, descendant of christian princes of jerusalem, prisoner of sultan and, unbeknownst zaïre, father
fatime, (fatima) slave girl , zaïre s friend
châtillon, french knight , comrade of nérestan
corasmin , mélédor, officers of sultan
un esclave, unnamed slave
the play s melodramatic plot , setting appealed orientalism in vogue in late-18th- , early-19th-century europe made popular opera composers. zaïre has been inspiration @ least thirteen operas. 1 of earliest operatic adaptations peter winter s zaire premiered in 1805 @ king s theatre in london famous italian contralto, giuseppina grassini, in title role. bellini s 1829 zaira, based on play, expressly written inauguration of teatro regio di parma failure on opening night , has been performed since then. johann andreas schachtner s libretto mozart s unfinished opera zaïde, based largely on 1778 singspiel, seraglio, or unexpected reunion of father, daughter , son in slavery. however, both appear have been influenced plot , themes of zaïre had been performed in salzburg late 1777.
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