Harem of European women forcibly taken into Oriental harems—evident for example in the Mozart opera "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") concerning the attempt of the hero Belmonte to rescue his beloved Konstanze from the "seraglio"/harem of the Pasha Selim; or in Voltaire's "Candide", in chapter 12 of which the old woman relates her experiences of being sold into harems across the Ottoman Empire. Much of Verdi's opera "Il corsaro" takes place in the harem of the Pasha Seid—where Gulnara, the Pasha's favorite, chafes at life in the harem, and longs for freedom and true love. Eventually
Davis Cunningham Prince Anatole in "War and Peace", Pelléas in "Pelléas et Mélisande", and Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio". In 1960 he portrayed Mario Cavaradossi in "Tosca" for an ABC television production. On Dec 27, 1954 he portrayed Michele in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Saint of Bleecker Street" on Broadway. In 1954, Cunningham joined the roster of principal tenors at the New York City Opera, where he first appeared in the title role of "The Tales of Hoffmann" in 1954. His other roles with the company included Rodolfo in "La bohème" (1954), Prince Ramiro in "La