Seraglio palace, the other (in the sense of enclosure for wild animals) from Late Latin: "", derived from "serare", to close, which comes from "sera", a door-bar. In the context of the "turquerie" fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's Singspiel, "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"). In Montesquieu's "Persian Letters", one of the main characters, a Persian from the city of Isfahan, is described as an occupant of a seraglio. "The Seraglio" may refer specifically to the Topkapı Palace, the residence of the former Ottoman Sultans in
Il re Il re Il re ("The king") is a novella or opera in one act and three scenes by composer Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on 12 January 1929. Unusual for a 20th-century opera, "Il re" was written specifically as a vehicle for Toti Dal Monte, a coloratura soprano of the old school. Dal Monte performed the work a number of times during her career but after her retirement, the opera quickly fell into obscurity. In December 1949, Arturo Toscanini, who had conducted the world premiere of the opera,