Corsair (opera)

The plot of Byron’s poem attracted Verdi’s attention in the early 1940s , but by 1848 he cooled off and wrote the opera reluctantly, without enthusiasm, at the same time working on the processing of the opera “ Lombards in the First Crusade ” for the Paris theater.

"Corsair" was delivered in Trieste in 1848, but was coldly received by the public and was not successful.

The opera takes place on an island in the Aegean Sea and in the Turkish city of Coron at the beginning of the 19th century .

Act I

Greek island

Scene I: The Corrado Ship

Pirates await the return of their leader Corrado. Soon his ship arrives. Corrado received a message that it was time to attack the Turkish fleet, which he reports to his comrades.

Scene II: House of Medora

Medora is sadly thinking about her fiance Corrado, her heart is filled with anxiety. To dispel sadness, the girl plays the harp. Soon Corrado appears to say goodbye to her. Medora begs him to stay, but Corrado is adamant - together with his comrades, he attacks the ships of the Turkish Pasha.

Act II

Coron, Pasha's Palace

Scene I: Pasha Harem

Gulnara, Pasha’s beloved concubine, is surrounded by care and attention, but she is not at all pleased with the honors she renders; she would have happily fled the harem. The eunuch brings Gulnara a note from the pasha: he invites her to a feast on the occasion of the campaign against the pirates, which Pasha conceived.

Scene II: Feast

Pasha and his soldiers appeal to Allah, asking him for help in the upcoming battle. At the height of the feast, the poor beggar is brought into the palace. Pasha agrees to accept it. Dervish says that he escaped from the pirates, and asks Pasha for protection. From the harbor, where the Turkish fleet is located, there are screams: the corsairs set fire to the ships of the Turks and now rushed to the palace. Taking advantage of the turmoil, the dervish takes off his rags - this is Corrado, who pretended to be a beggar in order to penetrate the palace. Fortune seems to be on the pirate's side, but Corrado makes a fatal mistake: realizing that the slaves could die in a fire, he decides to save Gulnara and other concubines. This gives the Turks time to gather strength and attack the corsairs. Corrado and his comrades are taken prisoner; Said swears that he will execute the pirates, despite the pleas of the slaves to keep them alive.

Act III

Scene I: Pasha's Palace

Said celebrates the victory, but his joy is overshadowed by jealousy: Gulnara, his beloved concubine, demanded that he save Corrado's life; she's probably in love with the pirate leader. When a slave is brought into the office, he directly asks her a question about her feelings for Corrado; the girl admits that she loves a corsair. The furious Pasha exposes Gulnara from his office. Seeing Said's hatred, the girl decides to save Corrado.

Scene II: Prison

Corrado longs for his fate: he must be executed at dawn. Soon Gulnara comes into the cell and offers Corrado to run away with her, she also gives him a knife so that at the first opportunity, the pirate will kill Said. Corrado refuses and admits that his heart belongs to another. Realizing that she cannot break the stubbornness of a corsair, Gulnara leaves the camera. After some time, the concubine returns: she killed the pasha, and now no one can stop them. Corrado decides to escape.

Scene IIl: Aegean Island

Medora learns that Corrado is captured by the Turks. Not hoping to see her fiancé anymore, she takes poison. Soon a ship abuts on the island: it arrived Corrado and his accompanying Gulnara. Corrado hurries to hug Medora; the girl thanks Gulnara for saving her lover. Gradually, the poison begins to act. Medora dies right in the arms of Corrado. Unable to fight grief, the corsair rushes off a cliff into the sea.

• Solovtsova, L. Verdi. - Moscow: Music, 1981. - S. 104.

• Libretto opera