Regieoper to be the most radically shocking to date. The inspiration for Mozart's opera was the overwhelming fascination of Europeans by all things Turkish. Orientalist elements abound in this story of a hero trying to rescue two girls from the clutches of an evil Pasha who has installed them in his harem, Seraglio. Instead of a genteel harem, Bieto has set this Abduction in a modern, garish bordello where men and women engage in extreme acts of sex and brutality. The sets consist mainly of whorehouse accoutrements, the lighting is colored and garish, and the costumes for the most part are
Il corsaro Il corsaro Il corsaro ("The Corsair") is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byron's poem "The Corsair". The first performance was given at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 October 1848. The composer expressed interest in Byron's poem "The Corsair" (along with "The Two Foscari" and others) as early as 1844 when he was planning an opera for Venice, but a suitable baritone was not available. In 1845, (before it was determined that "I masnadieri" was to be the opera presented in London), the composer had contracted