Music composed by Gioachino Rossini. Libretto by Luigi Balocchi and Étienne de Jouy, Italian
translation by Calisto Bassi.
First Performance: 26 March 1827, Opéra, Paris
| Principal Characters: | |
| Mosè, the Hebrews’ lawgiver | Bass |
| Elisero, his brother | Tenor |
| Faraone, King of Egypt | Bass |
| Aménofi, his son | Tenor |
| Aufide, Egyptian officer | Tenor |
| Osiride, High Priest | Bass |
| Maria, sister of Mosè | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Anaìde, her daughter | Soprano |
| Sinaide, wife of Faraone | Soprano |
| A mysterious voice | Bass |
Setting: Ancient Egypt
Synopsis:
Moses promises to lead the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. Anaïs and her mother have been
released by Pharoah on the intervention of Queen Sinaïs, who is sympathetic to the Israelites.
Anaïs loves Pharoah’s son, but intends to leave with her people, while her lover Amenophis has
decided she must stay. Moses brings upon Egypt the plague of darkness. This is raised, with
freedom again promised, while Pharoah has arranged a marriage for his son Amenophis with an
Assyrian princess, to his distress. The High Priest Osiris demands that Moses pay reverence to
Isis before the Israelites leave. Moses refuses and the Israelites are sent away in chains.
Amenophis and Anaïs meet, he still hoping that their love may be permitted. He warns her that
Pharoah’s army is pursuing the Israelites, who are now triumphantly led by Moses across the Red
Sea, while Pharoah’s men are drowned.
Rossini adapted his earlier opera Mosè in Egitto (Moses in Egypt) as Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le
passage de la Mer Rouge (Moses and Pharoah, or The Passage of the Red Sea) for Paris, with a
new libretto, creating the necessary grand opera spectacle that France demanded. Staging of the
French version of the work makes obviously heavier demands on resources. This second opera
for Paris marks a further step by Rossini towards his fourth and final opera for the French capital,
Guillaume Tell (William Tell).
Click here for the complete libretto.
image=http://www.operatoday.com/moses.png
image_description=Moses by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1659)
audio=yes
first_audio_name=Gioachino Rossini: MosË
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first_audio_link=http://www.operatoday.com/Mose1.wax
second_audio_name=Gioachino Rossini: MosË
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second_audio_link=http://www.operatoday.com/Mose1.m3u
product=yes
product_title=Gioachino Rossini: MosË
product_by=Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (MosË), Anita Cerquetti (Anaide), Agostino Lazzari (Elisero), Giuseppe Taddei (Faraone), Gianni Jaja (Amenofi), Tommaso Frascati (Aufide), Plinio Clabassi (Osiride), Anna Maria Rota (Maria), Rosanna Carteri (Sinaide), Coro e Orchestra della RAI di Roma, Tullio Serafin (cond.)
Live broadcast, 27 June 1956, Rome