Credits:

Gioacchino Rossini

Description:

Rossinis opera *Mohammed II* is probably better known in its French adaptation as *The Siege of Corinth*. This work tells a tragic story of love and betrayal. In the opera, the Venetian Anna Elisso falls in love with a man she believes to be her fathers comrade-in-arms. However, this man was actually the Turkish sultan, Mehmed II, in disguise. In the version prepared for the 1822 revival in Venice, Rossini adapted the opera to suit the conservative tastes of the general Venetian public, who preferred a happy ending. Instead of Annas tragic suicide, the Venetian army defeats the Sultans forces, and Anna survives to marry her fathers aide-de-camp, who has remained loyal to her father and her homeland.