Mosè in Egitto
Mosè in Egitto (Italian: [moˈzɛ in eˈdʒitto]; "Moses in Egypt") is a three-act opera written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on a 1760 play by Francesco Ringhieri, L'Osiride. It premièred on 5 March 1818 at the recently reconstructed Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy.
| Mosè in Egitto | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Gioachino Rossini | |
The composer in 1815 | |
| Librettist | Andrea Leone Tottola |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | L'Osiride by Francesco Ringhieri |
| Premiere | |
| Moïse et Pharaon | |
|---|---|
Scene for the third act in the 1827 production | |
| Librettist |
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| Language | French |
| Premiere | |
In 1827 Rossini revised and greatly enlarged the work to a four-act French libretto: Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le passage de la Mer Rouge (pronounced [mɔ.iz e faʁaɔ̃ u lə pasaʒ d(ə) la mɛʁ ʁuʒ]; "Moses and Pharaoh, or The Crossing of the Red Sea"). This was written by Luigi Balocchi and Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy. The première took place in the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opera on 26 March that year.
Riccardo Muti and many scholars consider Moïse et Pharaon, along with Guillaume Tell, to be among Rossini's greatest achievements:
- I prefer it because Rossini himself preferred it. Don't get me wrong. Mosè in Egitto is a wonderful opera, but it remains very much a mere sketch for Moïse et Pharaon. And it's not just me who says that, but the great Rossini himself.