The Siege of Belgrade
The Siege of Belgradeis a comicoperain three acts, principally composed byStephen Storaceto an EnglishlibrettobyJames Cobb.It incorporated music byMozart,Salieri,PaisielloandMartini,and is therefore considered apasticcioopera, as well as aSingspielin English language, as it contained a spoken dialogue. It premiered on 1 January 1791 at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane,in London with a great success,[1]featuring many famous singers and actors of the time, such as sopranosNancy Storace[2]andAnna Maria Crouch,tenorMichael Kelly[3]as well as Shakespearean actors (in spoken roles) such asJohn BannisterandRichard "Dicky" Suett.
Roles
[edit]Roles and performers at the premiere in London on 1 January 1791:[4]
- Men
- Saraskier, the leader of Turkish forces (tenor) –Mr. Kelly
- Colonel Cohenberg, Austrian Commander (spoken role) – Mr. Palmer
- Krohnfeldt (spoken role?) –Mr. R. Palmer
- Ismael, Commissioner of Saraskier and Yuseph (baritone) – Mr. Fox
- Yuseph, Turkish kadi (tenor) –Mr. Suett
- Leopold, Serbian peasant, in love with Lilla (tenor) –Mr. Bannister Jr.
- Peter, Serbian peasant, Lilla's brother and in love with Ghita (tenor) – Mr. Dignum
- Anselm, Serbian peasant (baritone) – Mr. Cook (later Mr. Sedgewick)
- Michael (spoken role) – Mr. Hollingsworth
- Soldier (spoken role) – Mr. Dubois
- Women
- Lilla, Serbian peasant girl, Peter's sister (soprano) –Signora Storace
- Catherine, wife of colonel Cohenberg (soprano) –Mrs. Crouch
- Ghita, Serbian peasant girl (soprano) – Mrs. Bland
- Fatima (spoken role) – Miss Hagley
Soldiers, Guards, Peasants, etc.
Notable musical numbers
[edit]- "When justice claims the victim due" (Act 1, Trio for the Seraskier, Lilla and Ghita), originally sung by Michael Kelly, Nancy Storace and Mrs. Bland
- "Domestic peace, my soul's desire" (Act 3, Lilla's aria), originally sung by Nancy Storace
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Stephen Storace.short biography
- ^Anna (Nancy) Storace,list of performances
- ^Kelly, Michael(1826). Thodore Edward Hook (ed.).Reminiscences of Michael Kelly of the King's Theatre and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane(2nd ed.). London:Henry Colburn.
- ^The Siege of Belgrade:Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project
Further reading
[edit]- Girdham, Jane (2001). "Storace, Stephen (John Seymour)".Grove Music Online(8th ed.).Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.41410.ISBN978-1-56159-263-0.(subscription required)
External links
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