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
Joan Carden sang a concert repertoire including Verdi's "Requiem", appearing with Sydney Philharmonia and other ensembles. Overseas, she sang Gilda ("Rigoletto") at Covent Garden in 1974, Donna Anna ("Don Giovanni") at the 1977 Glyndebourne Festival (in the production by Sir Peter Hall) and with the Metropolitan Opera in 1978. Her American debut, however, was as Amenaide with the Houston Grand Opera opposite Marilyn Horne in Rossini's "Tancredi". She also appeared as Constanza ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") with Scottish Opera in 1978. In 1980, she performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She sang the four