Tancredi

Background Syracuse has recently experienced competition and war with the Byzantine Empire (with which it has an unstable truce) and the Saracen armies headed by Solamir, but exhausted, has internal conflicts, too. The soldier, Tancredi, and his family have been stripped of their lands and wealth, and he himself has been banished since his youth. Two noble families, headed by Argirio and Orbazzano, have been warring for years but begin to reconcile. Also present is Solamir, the Moorish general. Argirio's daughter, Amenaide, is secretly in love with Tancredi. Prior to the beginning of the opera, she has sent him a letter (without naming him in it), and it is this letter which complicates proceedings. Overture Scene 1: A gallery in Argirio's palace Warring nobles Argirio, leader of the Senate in Syracuse, and Orbazzano and their men celebrate a truce and the end of a civil war: Chorus: Pace, onore, fede, amore / "Peace, honour, faith, love / Rule now". Along with Isaura, Amenaide's friend, and her ladies, Argirio proclaims that this unity reinforces a new security for the city against the Moorish forces led by Solamir: Se amistà verace, è pura / "If you keep in your heart true friendship". He names Orbazzano as the leader against the Moors. However, Argirio warns the assembled forces against a possible greater threat, that from the banished Tancredi, a statement which disturbs Isaura. Argirio then summons his daughter, Amenaide, to appear. She joins in the general songs of triu…

Estratto dalla sezione Synopsis dell’articolo Wikipedia — testo rilasciato con licenza CC BY-SA 4.0. Leggi la trama completa →