View source for Mosè in Egitto

{{short description|Opera by Gioachino Rossini}}

{{Infobox opera 
| name              = Mosè in Egitto
| composer          = [[Gioachino Rossini]]
| image             = Rossini-portrait-0.jpg
| image_upright     =
| caption           = The composer in 1815
| librettist        = [[Andrea Leone Tottola]]
| language          = Italian
| based_on          = {{based on|''L'Osiride''|Francesco Ringhieri}}
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1818|03|05|df=y}}
| premiere_location = {{Nowrap|[[Teatro San Carlo]], Naples}}
}}
{{Infobox opera 
| name              = Moïse et Pharaon
| image             = Mose in Egitto.jpg
| image_upright     = 
| caption           = Scene for the third act in the 1827 production
| librettist        = {{plainlist|
* [[Luigi Balocchi]]
* [[Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy]]
}}
| language          = French
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1827|03|26|df=y}}
| premiere_location = {{Nowrap|[[Salle Le Peletier]], Paris}}
}}
'''''Mosè in Egitto''''' ({{IPA|it|moˈzɛ in eˈdʒitto|lang}}; "''Moses in Egypt''") is a three-act opera written by [[Gioachino Rossini]] to an [[Italian language|Italian]] [[libretto]] by [[Andrea Leone Tottola]], which was based on a 1760 play by Francesco Ringhieri, ''L'Osiride''.{{sfn|Ringhieri|1760}} It premièred on 5 March 1818 at the recently reconstructed [[Teatro San Carlo]] in Naples, Italy.

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''''' ({{IPA|fr|mɔ.iz e faʁaɔ̃ u lə pasaʒ d(ə) la mɛʁ ʁuʒ|pron}}; "''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 ''[[William Tell (opera)|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.<ref name=EXPAT>[http://www.expatica.com/ch/news/news_focus/Riccardo-Muti-unearths-Rossini-rarity-in-Salzburg--_55367.html "Riccardo Muti unearths Rossini rarity in Salzburg"], 13 August 2009, on expatica.com</ref>

==Composition history==
'''''Mosè in Egitto'', 1818'''

The opera was loosely based on the [[The Exodus|Exodus]] from Egypt of the Israelites, led by [[Moses]], rendered agreeable to the opera stage by introducing a love theme, in which the Pharaoh's son Amenophis plans to prevent their departure, since he loves the Israelite Anaïs.

The 1818 opera opens as the plague of darkness is dispelled by Moses' prayer, and it ends with the spectacle of the parting of the [[Red Sea]] and the drowning of Pharaoh's host, which "elicited howls of derision"{{sfn|Gossett|Brauner|2001|p=783}} at the clumsy machinery of its staging at the premiere, though the opera surmounted its technical failings and was a hit. Billed in 1818 as an ''azione tragico-sacra'', the sacred drama with some features of the [[oratorio]] circumvented proscriptions of secular dramatic performances during [[Lent]].

Rossini slightly revised the opera in 1819, when he introduced Moses' prayer-aria "Dal tuo stellato soglio", which became one of the most popular opera pieces of the day and which inspired a set of variations for violin and piano by [[Niccolò Paganini]]. Both survive in concert performance.

'''''Moïse et Pharaon'', 1827'''

The greatly enlarged work set to a French libretto was composed with so much additional music, including a substantial ballet, as to warrant a new title, '''''Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le passage de la Mer Rouge''''' (''Moses and Pharaoh, or The Crossing of the Red Sea'') ({{IPA|fr|mɔiːz e faʁaɔ̃ u lə pasaːʒ də la mɛːʁ ʁuːʒ|pron}}), and was seen to be a separate and new opera alongside its Naples progenitor.

==Performance history==
[[File:Disegno per copertina di libretto, disegno di Peter Hoffer per Mosè in Egitto (s.d.) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON012411.jpg|thumb|Disegno per copertina di libretto, drawing for Mosè in Egitto (undated).]]
French audiences had already seen ''Mosè in Egitto'' – given its Parisian premiere by the [[Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878)|Théâtre-Italien]] at the [[Salle Le Peletier]] on 20 October 1822 – before Rossini revised it again, this time in French, for the [[Paris Opéra]].

The French version, in four acts with a [[ballet]], premiered on 26 March 1827 under the title ''Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le Passage de la Mer Rouge''. The first libretto from Naples was translated and augmented by [[Luigi Balocchi]]<ref>Balocchi, the conductor and director of the Théâtre des Italiens, had provided the libretto for Rossini's first Paris production, the coronation opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'', 1825, and for ''Le siège de Corinthe'', a French version of ''Maometto II''.</ref> and [[Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy]], who would later co-write the libretto for Rossini's final opera ''[[William Tell (opera)|Guillaume Tell]]''. As is noted on Expatica, "this second version proved such a runaway box-office success that it was performed no less than 100 times between its premiere in 1827 and 1838".<ref name=EXPAT/>

'''20th century and beyond'''

The [[Rossini Opera Festival]], in Rossini's home town of Pesaro, has presented the opera periodically since 1980, beginning with a 1983 production by [[Pier Luigi Pizzi]] and revived in 1985.<ref>[http://www.rossinioperafestival.it/?lang=eng&IDC=50&ID=75 Rossini opera Festival performance history] on rossinioperafestival.it</ref> It did not re-appear until 2011 when it was seen in a production by [[Graham Vick]].<ref>Fred Cohn, [http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/8/Recordings/ROSSINI__Mos%C3%A8_in_Egitto.html "Rossini: ''Mosè in Egitto''"], ''[[Opera News]]'', August 2013, Vol. 78, No. 2:  Review of the DVD of the production</ref> There had, however, been concert performances of various versions of the opera in New York by the Collegiate Chorale and the Sacred Opera Society.

''Mosè'' had "remained virtually unheard in Britain since a concert in 1822",<ref>[http://www.opera.archive.netcopy.co.uk/issue/may-1965 ''Opera'' (London), May 1965]</ref> until a production was staged by [[Welsh National Opera]] in the 1964/5 season in Cardiff, Llandudno and London. London's [[Royal Opera House]] gave it in May/June 1994.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=4274&row=0 "''Mosè in Egitto'' (1994): Opera: Production details"], on rohcollections.org.uk</ref>

Welsh National Opera staged it again in autumn 2014 in Cardiff and on tour. Opinions were mixed.<ref>[[Rupert Christiansen]], [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/11140658/Moses-in-Egypt-Welsh-National-Opera-review-oddly-anticlimactic.html "''Moses in Egypt'', Welsh National Opera, review: 'oddly anticlimactic{{'"}}], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 4 October 2014</ref><ref>Rian Evans, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/05/mose-in-egitto-review-welsh-national-opera "''Mosè in Egitto'' review – rare Rossini inspires formidable singing"], ''[[The Guardian]]'' (London), 5 October 2014</ref>

In the US, ''Mosè in Egitto'' had not been heard in Chicago since 1865, but it was presented in that city by [[Chicago Opera Theater]] in 2010<ref>[http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/the-company/repertoire Repertoire of COT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018135447/http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/the-company/repertoire |date=2014-10-18 }} on chicagooperatheater.org</ref> and given by [[New York City Opera]] in April 2013.<ref>Rosenberg, Marion Lignana 2013, [http://theclassicalreview.com/2013/04/even-with-rough-edges-ny-city-operas-mose-reaches-sublime-heights/ "Even with rough edges, NY City Opera’s ''Mosè'' reaches sublime heights"], ''The Classical Review'', 15 April 2013.  Retrieved 8 June 2013</ref>

As ''Moise et Pharaon'' it was given at La Scala in 2003, and again as part of the 2009 [[Salzburg Festival]] under Muti.<ref name=EXPAT/>

==Roles==
{|class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere casts in Naples and Paris}}
!Role<br>Naples version / Paris version 
![[Voice type]]
!Naples premiere cast,<br>5&nbsp;March&nbsp;1818<br>(Conductor: Nicola&nbsp;Festa)
!Paris premiere cast:<br>revised version,<br>26&nbsp;March&nbsp;1827<br>(Conductor: [[Henri&nbsp;Valentino]]<ref>Manuscript letter (Paris, 2 April 1827) with the autograph signature of Rossini, addressed to "Monsieur Valentino, Directeur de l'Orchestre de l'Academie R. de musique", thanking him for conducting ''Moïse'' ([http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb41736021v/PUBLICBnF BnF catalogue général - Notice bibliographique]); {{harvnb|Chouquet|1889}}.</ref>)
|-
|Mosè / Moïse ([[Moses]])
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|[[Michele Benedetti (bass)|Michele Benedetti]]
|[[Nicholas-Prosper Levasseur]]
|-
|Faraone / Pharaon ([[Pharaoh]])
|bass
|Raniero Remorini
|[[Henri-Bernard Dabadie]]
|-
|Amaltea / Sinaïde, ''his wife''
|soprano
|Frederike Funck
|[[Zulmé Dabadie]]
|-
|Osiride / Aménophis, ''their son''
|[[tenor]]
|[[Andrea Nozzari]]
|[[Adolphe Nourrit]]
|-
|Elcia / Anaï, ''a Hebrew girl''
|[[soprano]]
|[[Isabella Colbran]]
|[[Laure Cinti-Damoreau]]
|-
|Aronne / Eliézer ([[Aaron]])
|tenor
|[[Giuseppe Ciccimarra]]
|[[Alexis Dupont]]
|-
|Amenofi / Marie ([[Miriam]]), ''Moses' sister''
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|Maria Manzi
|Mori
|-
|Mambre / Aufide, ''a priest''
|tenor
|Gaetano Chizzola
|[[Ferdinand Prévôt]] 
|-
|(no role) / Osiride, ''the High Priest''
|bass
|
|Bonel
|-
|(no role) / A mysterious voice
|bass
|
|Bonel
|}

==Instrumentation==
The [[Sheet music|score]] calls for: 2 [[Western concert flute|flute]]s/2 [[piccolo]]s, 2 [[oboe]]s, 2 [[clarinet]]s, 2 [[bassoon]]s, 4 [[French horn|horns]], 2 [[trumpet]]s, 3 [[trombone]]s, [[Serpent (instrument)|serpent]], [[timpani]], [[bass drum]], [[cymbal]]s, [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], ''Banda Turca'', [[harp]], [[string section|strings]].

[[Stage band]]: piccolo, [[E-flat clarinet|quartino]], 4 clarinets, 2 horns, 4 trumpets, 2 trombones, serpent, bass drum

==Synopsis==
:Place: Egypt
:Time: Around 1230 B.C.{{sfn|Osborne|1994|p=81}}

===Act 1===
[[File:Moise1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Act 1 set design of the original 1827 production]]
Darkness envelopes Egypt. It has been brought about by God in order to punish the Pharaoh and his people because he has failed to allow the Hebrews to leave the country for the Promised Land across the Red Sea. Moses is brought in and the Pharaoh declares that, when the sun shines again, he will release the captives. Cautioned by his brother Aaron not to believe the Egyptian leader, nevertheless Moses pleads to God and light returns.

However, because the Pharaoh's son Osiride is in love with the Hebrew girl Elcia and does not want to see her leave with her people, he persuades the High Priest, Mambre, to help him. The Priest does not believe in Moses' powers and he agrees to find a way to prevent the exodus by encouraging the Egyptians to revolt against allowing the Hebrews to depart. The Pharaoh then withdraws his promise and warns Moses that any Hebrew who tries to escape will be killed. Amaltea, Pharaoh's wife, has secretly converted and she tries to intervene, but to no avail.  Moses then threatens further punishment and is set upon by Osiride's soldiers, intent upon killing him, but Pharaoh arrives in time to prevent it.  Moses then prays for fire to rain down upon the country.

===Act 2===
Pharaoh orders the Hebrews to leave at once, so as to avoid the curse placed on his people. Then, telling his son that he has negotiated a treaty whereby Osiride will be married to the Princess of Assyria, he does not understand why his son hears his announcement with little enthusiasm.

Shortly afterwards, Moses learns that Osiride has kidnapped Elcia, but Aaron knows where they are hiding. Amaltea is warned and accompanies him to find the lovers.
 
Together in the cave, Osiride tells Elcia of his father's plans for him and he suggests that they can live together in hiding in the countryside. The Queen with her guards and Aaron interrupt the two lovers, but they refuse to separate and Osiris declares that he intends to give up the throne.

Meanwhile, the Pharaoh once again reverses himself and states that he will not allow the captives to leave, fearing that the Hebrews will support Egypt's enemies. Outraged, Moses declares that the Crown Prince and all the firstborn males of the country will be hit by a divine lightning strike. Pharaoh orders Moses to be put in chains, and, to protect his son from the prophecy, declares Osiride to be his co-ruler and that he will be the one to proclaim the death sentence on Moses. Elcia then comes forward revealing her relationship with Osiride and begging him to free Moses and his people. She tries to persuade him to accept his destiny and marry the royal princess of Assyria. But Osiride remains adamant and immediately orders that Moses be killed. As he does so, he falls dead from being struck by a bolt of lightning.

===Act 3===
''On the shores of the Red Sea''

Having crossed the desert, the Hebrews arrive on the shores of the Red Sea, but find themselves unable to continue their journey to the Promised Land. Leading his people and telling them to wait for God's action, Moses prays. As the advancing Egyptians appear, the Hebrews are panicking, but Moses touches the waters with his staff and the Red Sea opens to provide a pathway to the opposite shore. Following closely behind, the Egyptians, led by Mambre and Pharaoh, enter the gap in the waters but they are swamped by the waves which close over them.

==Recordings==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Cast: Mosè,<br>Amaltea,<br>Osiride,<br>Elcia,<br>Faraone 
!Conductor,<br>opera house and orchestra
!Label<ref>[http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLROMOSE.HTM Recordings of ''Mosè in Egitto''  on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk]</ref>
|-
|1956 
|{{Nowrap|[[Nicola Rossi-Lemeni]]}},<br>[[Rosanna Carteri]],<br>Agostino Lazzari,<br>[[Anita Cerquetti]],<br>[[Giuseppe Taddei]]
|[[Tullio Serafin]],<br>[[RAI National Symphony Orchestra]] and the RAI Chorus
|CD: MYTO,<br>Cat: 00251
|-
|1956
| [[Nicola Rossi-Lemeni]],<br>Bruna Rizzoli,<br>Agostino Lazzari,<br>[[Caterina Mancini]],<br>[[Giuseppe Taddei]]
|[[Tullio Serafin]],<br>[[Teatro San Carlo]] di Napoli Orchestra and Chorus
|CD: [[Philips]],<br>Cat: 442 100-2
|-
|1968
| [[Nicolai Ghiaurov]],<br>[[Shirley Verrett]],<br>Giampaolo Corradi,<br>[[Teresa Żylis-Gara]],<br>Mario Petri
|[[Wolfgang Sawallisch]],<br>[[RAI National Symphony Orchestra]] and the RAI Chorus
|CD: Frequenz,<br>Cat: 043-022
|-
|1981
| [[Jozsef Gregor|József Gregor]],<br>[[Julia Hamari|Júlia Hamari]],<br>András Molnár,<br>Magda Kalmár,<br>Sándor Sólyom-Nagy
|[[Lamberto Gardelli]],<br>[[Hungarian State Opera]] Orchestra and Hungarian Radio and Television Chorus
|CD: Hungaroton,<br>Cat: HCD 12290-92
|-
|1987
| [[Ruggero Raimondi]],<br>[[Zehava Gal]],<br>[[Salvatore Fisichella]],<br>[[June Anderson]],<br>[[Siegmund Nimsgern]]
|[[Claudio Scimone]],<br>[[Philharmonia Orchestra]] and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus ([[Ambrosian Singers]]) 
|CD: [[Philips]],<br>Cat: 420 109-2
|-
|1993
| [[Roberto Scandiuzzi]],<br>Gloria Scalchi,<br>Ezio Di Cesare,<br>[[Mariella Devia]],<br>[[Michele Pertusi]]
| Salvatore Accardo,<br>[[Teatro San Carlo]] di Napoli Orchestra and Chorus<br>(Audio and video recordings of a performance (or of performances) in the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli)
| DVD: House of Opera<br>Cat: DVDBB 2113
|-
|1997
| [[Michele Pertusi]],<br>Mariana Pentcheva,<br>Luigi Petroni,<br>[[Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz]],<br>Eldar Aliev
|[[Vladimir Jurowski]],<br>Orchestra del [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]] and [[Prague Chamber Choir]]
|CD: Fonè,<br>Cat: ROF 199
|-
|2007
| [[Lorenzo Regazzo]],<br>Rossella Bevacqua,<br>Giorgio Trucco,<br>Akie Amou,<br>Wojtek Gierlach
| [[Antonino Fogliani]],<br>Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra<br>(Recording of performances at the [[Rossini in Wildbad]] Festival)
| CD: Naxos,<br>Cat: 8.660220-21
|-
|2012
|Riccardo Zanellato,<br>Olga Senderskaya,<br>Yijie Shi,<br>[[Sonia Ganassi]],<br>[[Alex Esposito]]
|[[Roberto Abbado]],<br/>[[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]] orchestra and chorus,<br/>[[Graham Vick]], stage director
|DVD: [[Naxos Records]]<br/>Cat:OA1093D
|-
|2020
|Alexey Birkus,<br>Silvia Dalla Benetta,<br>Patrick Kabongo,<br>Elisa Balbo,<br>Baurzhan Anderzhanov
|Fabrizio Maria Carminati,<br/>Virtuosi Brunensis, <br/>Górecki Chamber Choir,<br>(Recording of performances at the [[Rossini in Wildbad]] Festival)
|CD: [[Naxos Records]]<br/>Cat:8660473-75
|}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}
'''Sources'''
* {{cite book|last=Chouquet|first=Gustave|author-link=Gustave Chouquet|year=1889|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FAoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA214|chapter=Valentino, Henri Justin Armand Joseph|volume=4|page=214|title=[[A Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]|location=London|publisher=Macmillan}}
*{{cite book|last1=Gossett|first1=Philip|authorlink1=Philip Gossett|last2=Brauner|first2=Patricia|year=2001|chapter=''Mosè in Egitto''|editor=Holden, Amanda|editor-link=Amanda Holden (writer)|title=The New Penguin Opera Guide|location=New York|publisher=Penguin Putnam|isbn=0-14-029312-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Osborne|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Osborne (music writer)|year=1994|title=The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini|location=Portland, Oregon|publisher=Amadeus Press|isbn=0931340713}}
*{{cite book|last=Ringhieri|first=Francisco|year=1760|title=L'Osiride. Tragedia del p.d. Francesco Ringhieri monaco ulivetano e lettore di teologia|location=Padua|publisher=Conzatti}} Eight volumes of the tragedies of Ringhieri, an [[Olivetans|Olivetan monk]] (1721–1787), were also published in Venice 1788–1789.

==Further reading==
*Osborne, Richard (1990), ''Rossini'', Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. {{ISBN|1-55553-088-5}}  {{ISBN|1-55553-088-5}}
*Osborne, Richard (1998), "''Mosè in Egitto"'' in [[Stanley Sadie]], (Ed.),  ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', Vol. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. {{ISBN|0-333-73432-7}}  {{ISBN|1-56159-228-5}}
*Servadio, Gaia (2003),  ''Rossini'', New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7867-1195-7}}
*[[Francis Toye|Toye, Francis]] (reissue 1987), ''Rossini: The Man and His Music'', Dover Publications.  {{ISBN|0486253961}} {{ISBN|0-486-25396-1}},

==External links==
*{{IMSLP|work=Mosè in Egitto (Rossini, Gioacchino)|cname=''Mosè in Egitto''}}
*{{AllMusic|class=work|id=c53357|title=''Mosè in Egitto''}}
*[https://www.naxos.com/search/kwsresults.asp?q=Mose+in+Egitto&site=naxosalbums&x=0&y=0&ie=ISO-8859-15&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=naxos_frontend_next&client=naxos_frontend&filter=0 ''Mosè in Egitto''], Naxos
*[https://archive.org/details/moseinegittoquar00ross/mode/2up Mose in egitto : quartetto a canone mi manca la voce per piano-forte musica del], digitized by BYU on archive.org

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mose in Egitto}}
[[Category:1818 operas]]
[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Moses]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on the Bible]]
[[Category:Operas based on plays]]
[[Category:Operas by Gioachino Rossini]]
[[Category:Operas set in ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:Opera world premieres at the Teatro San Carlo]]
[[Category:Libretti by Andrea Leone Tottola]]