Turcoi

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THE TURKISH IN ITALY
Funny drama for music.
lyrics by
Happy Romans
music by
Gioachino Rossini
First performance: 14 August 1814, Milan.
www.librettidopera.it 1 / 51
Information Turkish in Italy
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booklet no. 110, first draft for www.librettidopera.it: September 2006.

Last Updated: 11/11/2017.
In particular for this title we thank the National

Library «Braidense» of Milan for the kind
collaboration.
2 / 51 www.librettidopera.it
F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Personages
PERSONAGES
SELIM Turkish prince who travels, once in

love with Zaida, and then in love with Fiorilla .......... BASS
Donna FIORILLA capricious but honest

woman, wife of don Geronio .......... SOPRANO
Don GERONIO weak and fearful man .......... BASS
Don NARCISO knight servant of woman

Fiorilla, a jealous and sentimental man .......... TENOR
Prosdocimo POET and acquaintance of don

Geronio .......... BASS
ZAIDA once a slave and betrothed to

Selim, later a gypsy; woman of tender heart
and lover.......... MEZZO SOPRANO
ALBAZAR first confidant of Selim, then

gypsy follower and friend of Zaida .......... TENOR
Chorus of Gypsies and Gypsies, Turks, Masks.
Extras from Friends of Fiorilla, Gypsies, Turks, and Masks.
The scene is in the vicinity of Naples in a holiday resort, and in Don Geronio's house.
Act One Turkish in Italy
ACT ONE
[Symphony]
Scene before
Lonely place outside of Naples. Sea beach. Hill on one side, scattered
with country houses that can be seen in the distance, and tents guarded
by Gypsies.
A troop of Gypsies is on the hill, another on the plain, all occupied in
different offices.
Zaida, Albazar, then the Poet.
[No. 1. Introduction]
CHOIR Our homeland is the whole world, and in
the bosom of abundance the
credulous ignorance of others

makes us live and wallow.
ZAIDA Everyone's heart is happy, I'm the

only one who is miserable!
I have lost my love, and I

cannot find it again.
ALBAZAR Console yourself once; have

fun with us.
Come on... courage! it's up to you

to start the song.
POET I have a funny drama to do, and I

can't find the subject!
This one has too much feeling, the
insipid one seems to me.
ZAIDA, ALBAZAR E Exalted in every part

CHOIR the great name goes to him,
who first taught us the art of eating
off someone else's back without
too much effort.
POET As! gypsies! by bacchus! joy,

song, breakfast!
Oh! what a beautiful introduction
you would have to get!
ZAIDA, ALBAZAR E Our homeland is the whole world, and in

CHOIR the bosom of abundance the
credulous ignorance of others

makes us live and wallow.
F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Act One
POET Good! good! it's true, it's true, the

custom of eating in
abundance and not toiling is
very beautiful.
Second scene
Poet alone.
Recitative
POET
Ah! if the arrival of these gypsies

could prepare some accident, what
sufficient intrigue it
presented me for a whole drama!
A beautiful picture I would draw from life.
We need to abandon
writing our thoughts on the whims of the
beautiful Fiorilla: poets of all races have
staged a foolish
husband, and a crazy wife.
Here is Geronio who has
the mania of having himself astrologed: I
run quickly to the gypsies to warn them.
(the Poet climbs the hill and sees Don Geronio mentioning the gypsies who comes out on the opposite side meditating)
Third scene
Don Geronio, then Gypsies and Gypsies.
[No. 2 cavatinas]
GERONIO
I'm going in search of a gypsy

who knows how to astrologer
me: who tells me in confidence,
if with time and patience, my
wife's brain will be able to
heal.
But the gypsy I long for is
impossible to find.
Because my wife's brain is made
of such pasta, that an
astrologer is not enough to
investigate.
Meanwhile the Gypsies go downstairs, and the Gypsies with Zaida, who, having reached
the floor, surround Don Geronio.
GYPSIES Who wants to be an astrologer!
GERONIO Here is a group of gypsies

next to me.
GYPSIES We read in destiny, we read
in the stars: who wants to be
an astrologer!
GERONIO Gypsies!...
GYPSIES Give me your hand.
GERONIO wait...
GYPSIES Soon...
GERONIO Floor.
GYPSIES The past we will tell you.

GERONIO More than you I know for sure.
GYPSIES The present we will find out.
GERONIO I know too.
GYPSIES So the future?

GERONIO Just that.
GYPSIES Poor thing!
GERONIO What was that?
GYPSIES What destiny!

GERONIO But speak up.
GYPSIES You will always
be foolish and gonzo as you are...
GERONIO Heh! get out of here.
GYPSIES Always always... ah! ha! ha!
GERONIO Ah! my wife knows who the gypsies
in the square are; if you
continue to act crazy, the
whole world will know.
GYPSIES What a fatal constellation!
Always mad!... ah! ha! ha!
GERONIO Heh! leave me, fool!
Heh! get out of here.
(runs away followed by the troop of gypsies. While Zaida with Albazar want to leave, the Poet comes out and holds
them back)
Fourth scene
Poet, Zaida and Albazar.
Recitative
POET Well done! I understood everything;

you are, gypsy, witty.
What is your homeland?
ZAIDA I had life
of the Caucasus on the slopes!
POET
uh! what fortune
from such distant lands
does it draw you wandering here?
ALBAZAR Our cases

I'm a real novel.
POET (Good!) You must have

certainly been in some menagerie.
ZAIDA One happy day
slave in Erzerum lived by
Selim Damelec.
ALBAZAR And his troubles

start there.
POET What happened to you?
ZAIDA Listen: he loved me, and

wanted to marry me; my rivals make me
appear treacherous in his
eyes: blind and furious it makes him
jealous, and he orders
him to be dead.
Albazar saved me. It would be long to
say how much I suffered, how many cruel
ways destiny offended me
like here, with such people, in this tool.
POET A beautiful thought comes to me

that can make you happy.
ZAIDA
In what manner?
POET A certain Turkish prince must
arrive this evening, who is traveling to visit

Italy, and to observe European customs.
ZAIDA It seems strange

that this curiosity jumps into the
head of a Turk!
POET The case is very rare indeed.

But surely he is expected; on the contrary,
they have prepared a
magnificent palace for him, and a party.
He stays here for a few
days, then returns to Türkiye. Where he knows
the faith of your heart, it will
be done with the loving mediator.
You say: best idea...
ALBAZAR It could not be found.
ZAIDA Is it easy for
the prince to enter?
POET If you yearn to return to Selim

leave it to me.
ZAIDA Yes: I have no

peace far from him; although it is cruel to me
I love her, I loved her; I was always faithful to him.
(they leave for the hill)
Fifth scene
Fiorilla accompanied by several of her friends, like someone returning from
a walk.
[No. 3/1 Cavatina]

FIORILLA
There is no greater madness

of loving a single object: the
pleasure of every day causes
boredom and no delight.
Always a single flower they don't love
the bee, the auretta, the
rio; Of genius and fickle heart
I want to love like this,
I want to change like this.
In the meantime a ship will be seen passing by, which, having thrown a boat
into the sea, will stop at anchor. The boat approaches land carrying
Selim accompanied by many Turks.
[No. 3/2 Chorus, cavatina and duet]

TURKS Row, row, ashore, ashore.
FIORILLA A ship! Turkish it seems.
TURKS From the labor we had at sea we

can rest here.
FIORILLA Aside to observe we stare who

will land.
(Fiorilla withdraws; meanwhile the boat lands, and Selim disembarks)
TURKS And forget the Italian sky every
pain will make us.
Sixth scene
Selim, then Fiorilla.
SELIM Dear Italy, I finally aim at you.

I greet you, friendly shores; the air,
the soil, the flowers and the waves,
everything laughs and speaks to the heart.

Ah! of heaven and earth, beautiful
Italy, you are love.
(in the meantime Fiorilla will have shown herself with her company)
FIORILLA (What a handsome Turk! let's get closer.)
SELIM (How many amiable damsels!)
FIORILLA (I don't mind the Turks either.)
SELIM (Italians are still beautiful.)
FIORILLA (I want to talk to him.)
SELIM (I want to approach.)
FIORILLA AND SELIM (And I want to have fun.)
FIORILLA Servant...
SELIM Servant.
FIORILLA (That's very polite.)
SELIM (Oh! what a lovely little face!)

I am very lucky to meet such
a vague object.
FIORILLA Indeed, it is all my favor to meet
a great gentleman so full of civilization.
SELIM (I'm surprised.)
FIORILLA (He is already injured.)
SELIM (How attractive!)
FIORILLA (It's in the network.)
SELIM I like you, ma'am.
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FIORILLA Don't make fun of me...
SELIM In truth.
FIORILLA (With a little modesty I know

well what is being done.)
SELIM (That amiable modesty makes
her seem more gentle.)
FIORILLA Goodbye, sir...
SELIM Do you leave?
FIORILLA I go for a walk.

SELIM May I come too, would you like?
FIORILLA It's too honorable.
SELIM (What a fire!)
Pretty!... sigh?
FIORILLA You too.
SELIM Me too.
FIORILLA AND SELIM Why?

Because I feel an unusual flame
burning in me.
SELIM Ah! extend your hand to me.
FIORILLA What do you want to do with the man?
SELIM I don't want to leave you anymore.

(Fiorilla offers him her hand, which Selim shakes tenderly, then Fiorilla responds to Selim's tenderness)
Together
FIORILLA Dear hand to my heart, I press you,

you will always have a star with me.
(It's not that hard to conquer
these Turks.)
SELIM Dear hand to my heart, I press you,
you will always have a star with me.
(It's not that difficult to
conquer these women.) (they
leave, arm in arm)
Scene seven
Poet, then Narcissus.
Recitative
POET The character of the gypsy lover
is not funny, but beautiful and
interesting. The principle of the work is
theatrical, but I don't see a

natural plot in it.
NARCISSUS Poet!
POET Don Narcissus!

as! are you here alone? I thought you had
your Fiorilla in company.
NARCISSUS He came with me; but then he took another route.

Tell me, did you see it?
POET
I do not.
NARCISSUS
(She
has some intrigue that keeps me hidden.)
POET (The jealous servant cavalier thinks.
Let's break ground: could you offer me some

good episodes.)
NARCISSUS (Instead of time I have grown to hate.)
Eighth scene
Don Geronio and sayings.
GERONIO Friends... help me,
advise me... I'm out of my mind.

NARCISSUS Why? what ever happened?
POET What's new?
GERONIO At this point I saw my wife with a

Turk.
POET A Turk!
NARCISSUS
(Treacherous!)
GERONIO Guides him to my house

to drink coffee. Sien accursed all the
Turks of the world.
POET One point is this

(cheerful) to be honored...
GERONIO I don't care

to have in my house
the jeweled turban of
Selim Damelec.
POET (jumping for joy)

That? Selim! Really!
The Gypsy Lover! by bacchus!
This sudden arrival is a nice
twist: the drama is done.
Apollo thank you. He's
NARCISSUS crazy.
GERONIO He's crazy.
[No. 4 Trio]
POET A foolish husband!
A ~ capricious bride!
No, it doesn't get any better.
GERONIO My lord, what joke is this?
(angry)
You respect me; or that
some man will break his head.
POET A gallant supplanted by a
handsome Turk in love!
Oh! what a weaving!
NARCISSUS For whom do you intend to speak?

(indignant)
Don't come to insult us, or he
will have to do it with me.
POET (now to one, now to the other)
But sir, why does it get hot?...

But sir, why does it catch fire?
I want to choose the subject that
seems to me for a drama.
GERONIO Choose a topic that doesn't suit
my peers, and husbands that aren't
ill-treated, who know how to
make themselves respected.
NARCISSUS
You let the gallants live,
and pay no attention to
their state; or a beaten
poet I will enter the drama.
12/51 www.librettidopera.it
POET Act one, scene one, the husband

with his friend...
Wife... Turkish... cries... tangle...

No, it doesn't get any better.
GERONIO AND NARCISSUS First act, first scene, the poet

will receive a beating from
her husband and friend
because of the tangle.
Scene 9
Elegantly furnished apartments in Don Geronio's house. Sofa,
coffee table, chairs, etc.
Fiorilla accompanied by Selim.
Recitative
FIORILLA Hola: coffee soon.

(to a servant who is leaving)
Sit down.
(they sit)
SELIM I admire
the rich furnishings of this cabinet; but for

such great beauty as yours a temple is
needed, and you would
have a magnificent one in Turkey.
FIORILLA Some menagerie perhaps? Is it true that the Turks are so

jealous?
SELIM Ah! if a treasure
possessed equal, of their

jealousy they would be excused; they
would love you more than you think.
(coffee has come)
FIORILLA Here's the coffee.
SELIM (I can not anymore!)
FIORILLA (pouring and handing)

Take.
SELIM (What a delicate hand!)
FIORILLA Is sugar enough?
SELIM (What an elegant manner!

What beautiful eyes, and what fire sparks in them!)
FIORILLA What are you thinking about?
SELIM I think of Fiorilla.
FIORILLA (The Turkish is taken.) How many women have you loved?
How many would you like to have?
SELIM I loved one, nor

did I want to love anymore: but near you I feel
that there is still strength to burn with love.
Ah! if you want to accept my affection, you
will be the only flame of my heart.
[No. 5 Quartet]
FIORILLA You are Turkish: I don't believe you;
you have a hundred women
around you: you buy and sell
them when the ardor is extinguished in you.
SELIM Ah! my dear, even in Turkey if you own

a treasure, you don't change
it, you don't give it up; Serbian a
Turk also amor.
Tenth scene
Don Geronio and sayings.
GERONIO (on the door)

There you go... alone and alone!
What do I have to bear? (entering)
It is allowed? can you enter?

Can I hope for such a favor?
SELIM What does that bold man expect?
FIORILLA You calm down: he's my husband.
SELIM (jumping up and drawing a dagger)

The husband!... back... soon...
GERONIO How?... alas!... what trait is this?
SELIM The husband! backwards...
GERONIO Help!
FIORILLA Pity yourself: he has come

here, poor thing, to do you honour.
SELIM I do not trust.
GERONIO Yes, sir.
Scene eleventh
Don Narciso aside and sayings.
NARCISSUS (Ciel, what do I see! the inconstant

already of the Turk is made a lover.)
FIORILLA And you asked for the favor of
kissing each other...
GERONIO
Yes, sir.
FIORILLA
The dress. ~ Here soon. (she
forces her husband to kiss the Turk's robe)
SELIM
I amaze, I surprise myself; in
Turkey there aren't husbands
so kind, so polite, so full
of kindness.
FIORILLA
(Oh what a scene!) Say well: (old
fool!) husbands (I enjoy it!) are
polite, they are full of kindness.
NARCISSUS (Ah I see it: my faults,

unfortunate! are homework.
Right love! oh! let the many outrages
he does to me be punished.)
GERONIO (Damned!) She says well: (ah!
gossip girl!) husbands (crepo,
schiatto!) are polite, they are full of
kindness.
(Narciso advances and directs the speech to Geronio: then everyone stands around Geronio pulling him aside from
each other)
NARCISSUS
As! can you suffer such a
grave shame in peace?
FIORILLA
He is always around me.
SELIM What does the bold one want from you?
GERONIO Nothing.
NARCISSUS
What does he expect?
GERONIO Nothing.
FIORILLA What do you mean?
SELIM Nor do you drive him out into the street?
FIORILLA
I don't want it in my presence.
NARCISSUS Let it go.
GERONIO Politics!... Prudence!...
NARCISSUS Listen.
SELIM
Here.
FIORILLA
Come on.
GERONIO But I'm fed up by now,
but I can't take it anymore.
SELIM (approaching Fiorilla, and speaking to her aside)
I would like to talk to
you, I'll wait for you by the sea.
(Costor spite me, it's better to
get out of here.)
(to leave, and coming back)
SELIM
But before leaving you,
(to Fiorilla)
at least turn a serene
eye to me, a look
of love.
(Those two bores
besiege him every time.)
FIORILLA
But before leaving me, at
(to Selim)
least turn a serene
eye, a look of love.
(Those two bores break

their heart.)
NARCISSUS You should show yourself
(to Geronio)
less weak at least; look: I
am full of blush for
you.
(Indignation and love
torment my soul.)
GERONIO
I cannot explain to you
(to Narcissus) the rage I have within me: I
am all poison, I am
all fury.
(But the fear of Turkish
also calms me.)
(Selim, Fiorilla and Narciso leave on the opposite side; Don Geronio remains on stage, walking with long strides)
Twelfth scene
Don Geronio and the Poet.
Recitative
POET (I arrived late.

The Turk has already left...
Oh! good sign: I see the husband snorting.)
GERONIO (An old man cannot be more foolish than to

take a young wife.)
Friend! Don't you think I
deserve pity? Here I surprised her cherished
by the Turk, and the beast wanted to kill me.
POET Well!
GERONIO What do you say?
He made me, to appease him,

kiss his dress.
POET (Oh! the beautiful trio!)
GERONIO And here still remained Don Narciso

he did not arrive in time, and did not take the
right defense of an outraged husband.
POET (What a scene! what a precious quartet!)
GERONIO What are you talking about? I do not mean.
POET Excuse me: I was

arranging my drama. Now what do you plan
to tell your wife?
GERONIO Oh! if she were
docile as was my first wife!
I could assert my reasons, but the
reverse is she of the medal.
POET He is so because in you he finds a man of straw.

(part)
Scene thirteen
Don Geronio, then Fiorilla.
GERONIO The poet is right. It's patience

the virtue of donkeys: in the end I am
the one who has to rule in my house; either that
Turk, or my wife go away...
FIORILLA (It's Geronio here again! Bad encounter: I'll be forced to listen
to moral precepts for a quarter of an hour.)
GERONIO (Here it is: gravity!)
FIORILLA (Preach as much as you like; you will have to keep silent.)
GERONIO How many bitter mouthfuls they
make me swallow!
FIORILLA Who do you have it with?
(Fiorilla in this scene is always indifferent and calm: Geronio raises his voice from time to time, and is always
grumpy)
GERONIO With a crazy, bizarre, capricious
woman who, unfortunately for
Don Geronio, is married.

I'm tired...
FIORILLA I beg you

not to shout so loudly
that my head aches a little.
GERONIO It hurts me too.
But look! lighthouse!...
FIORILLA Don't get hot.
You don't know how to speak if you don't shout.
Do you think it is well done,
that a man of your rank should
shout like this?
GERONIO (I would kill her.)

And does it seem well
done to her to make me despair?... Bacchus body!
I will shelter you.
FIORILLA Be quiet, dear spouse.
GERONIO Impertinent!
FIORILLA Even with shouting you get nothing.
GERONIO Well, let's talk slowly.
FIORILLA If the question is legitimate, tell me,
my sweet love, will your warnings be long?
GERONIO Oh! very long.
FIORILLA If you don't narrow them down, I won't listen to them.
GERONIO You will listen to them, yes, you will listen to them,
lady grimace, or you will return to the ancient hut in
Sorrento where I took you.

I made a big mistake!
If I stay with you any longer, I'll go crazy.
FIORILLA You always complain. I too would be right to complain, yet

I am silent.
GERONIO
You! this is nice! and
what reason would I have given you?...
FIORILLA Make your complaints, I'll make mine.
GERONIO Well: I complain about you, how

changed you are; and that you
want her husband to die.
FIORILLA I too regret you for reason

that you have changed.
GERONIO I!
FIORILLA
I'll try it.
Amabil, like one day, I can't find you anymore.
[No. 6 Duet]
GERONIO
Please the lady
(with irony)
I have to do I would like to know.
FIORILLA
You must always keep silent,
(placidly)
never suspect anything.
GERONIO But if I listen...
FIORILLA He plays deaf.
GERONIO But if I see...
FIORILLA He goes blind.
GERONIO
No, ma'am, I don't agree, I want to
see and I want to talk.
FIORILLA
You will pass for a fool,
you will be fooled.
GERONIO At court: in my house

(in anger)
I don't want Turks or Italians;
or escape me...
FIORILLA
What madness!
(ironic)
GERONIO Something from the hands.

FIORILLA Come on, darling, calm down.
(with feigned tenderness)
GERONIO As! are you still making fun of me?
FIORILLA No, my life, my darling; if I

adore you everyone knows it.
You cruel ones, do you offend me?...
Do you offend me?...
GERONIO (Goodbye courage.)

FIORILLA You see my tears, without
(feigning pain) pity on me!
GERONIO No, Fiorilla, I love you too,
(moved) everyone knows it anyway.
FIORILLA And you dare threaten me!
(offended) mistreat me! scare me!
GERONIO Forgive...
FIORILLA you leave me.

(outraged)
GERONIO (running after her)

little flower!...
FIORILLA I want revenge.
GERONIO Fiorilla!...
FIORILLA Out of here.

To punish you for having a
thousand lovers around me, to
play the mad day and night, to
amuse myself in freedom.
(With such a husband,
here's how to do it.)
GERONIO (Me petty!) Ah no, my dear...
(What have I done!) In peace I return.
(Now I'm fresh!) Night and day!
This is too much cruelty.
(Ah I say it; she was born mad,
and the madder she will die.)
(they leave)
Scene fourteen
Poet alone.
Recitative
POET
I have almost finished the

warping of my
drama; but an act is little to a drama, and Horace
says that it cannot be less than five, but I
will have to divide it into two parts.
Unknown in your time
were comic dramas, my Horatio, and I
want to continue our customs.
Continued on next page.
POET In the meantime, let's trace the
gypsy: discover Selim about her.

And everything, in order for it to be his, be set in motion.
(part)
Scene fifteen
It's night.
Seashore, etc., as in the first scene. Selim's ship anchored.
Illuminated gypsy camp.
Gypsies and gypsies employed in various offices, Zaida and Albazar.
[No. 7 Final first]

CHOIR Great wonders
unknown to the
sun, who wants
to hear, who wants to look?
ZAIDA Who wants to penetrate

the past and the future?
There is no mystery so obscure that
I cannot reveal.
CHOIR Great wonders

unknown to the
sun, who wants
to hear, who wants to look?
Sixteenth scene
Selim, then Poet and sayings.
SELIM Everything is quick for the

escape, the wind is good and the sea
is calm: impatient I stop here my
beauty to wait.
POET (Here Selim! without knowing it Zaida

approaches it.)
ZAIDA From the gypsy guess who

wants to be an astrologer?
SELIM Zingarella, come forward:

what do the planets tell you?
ZAIDA Ah! what a voice! what semblance!

I have no breath to speak.
POET (Now the unveiling takes place;

there will be a faint, I'm going to
prepare a seat.)
SELIM What does my fatal fate tell you, and
it lasts so much, that I see you

almost trembling in your eyes with tears?
ZAIDA Out of unjust jealousy I see

Zaida being killed; but he adores you,
and only desires to be able to
return with you.
SELIM Where does the unfortunate live?...
But... I'm not mistaken... Beautiful Zaida!
ZAIDA Yes, sir, I'm the one!
SELIM Come to me, my dear love.
ZAIDA AND SELIM Here is the end of my pains, my only

happiness.
POET (There is a seat, and you don't faint, with

the rules it doesn't work.)
(they leave together, then return)
Scene seventeen
Don Narciso and said, then Fiorilla in disguise, and with her face covered by
a veil, lastly Don Geronio.
NARCISSUS Why on earth if I am betrayed, raw

love, do you turn my heart on?
Either the lover finally restores me,
or gives me freedom.
Don Narciso gets lost in the crowd: Fiorilla then comes out followed by a
chorus of her friends.
CHOIR Long live the vital fire
of love, delight of
the heart, pleasure of
the world.
FIORILLA Whoever serves doesn't crave love, go
away, I have it with me.

To tame superb core bow and
face Amor gave me.
SELIM What a beautiful song! what a presence!
GERONIO Here my wife has to come, I want to

do... I mean... if I find her, she'll
hear.
FIORILLA Vague and lovable stranger!
SELIM Beautiful nymph!
ZAIDA (He approaches her!)
GERONIO (Para Fiorilla.)
NARCISSUS (It's said, it's said.)
POET (Here Geronio, and here the lover!)
SELIM Ah! discover the beautiful semblance.
ZAIDA (Siam da capo: it has already changed.)
SELIM You discover yourself.
FIORILLA Treacherous!
ungrateful! so you love me?
watch me. (she takes off her veil, and all who had come to see shout)
EVERYONE Ah!
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, Ah! that the heart did not deceive me,
NARCISSUS AND GERONIO certain are my faults.
I feel in her face lacerar with
indignation.
SELIM Ah! that the heart didn't deceive me, it

watched my steps.
I dare not raise an eyelash in
her face out of shame.
POET We lacked this scene to

complete my verses: it surprises
us at five, at six.
Grand finale can be done.
ZAIDA (turning spitefully to Fiorilla)

Go away: be careful not to look
for my lover.
FIORILLA (spiteful, she replies anyway)

That gentleman does not belong to
you, I want to stay here with him.
SELIM But listen... calm down.
NARCISSUS What do you say? Don't you talk?
GERONIO Home soon, home soon...
ALBAZAR What mess is this?
POET Oh! what a singular case!
ZAIDA We'll see, we'll see...
FIORILLA There will be two of us to see.
ZAIDA My lady, I don't fear you...

FIORILLA The owls like her...
ZAIDA Her gossip peers...
FIORILLA AND ZAIDA I will know well how to
punish. (all at once)
FIORILLA AND ZAIDA
(almost getting into a fight)

As! as! gossip to me!
Oh! before! owl to me! you
are the only gossip girl,
you are the only owl;
brash, silly, impertinent...
What a way to treat!
SELIM (dividing them)

What do you do? hello... calm down,
GERONIO What indignation... what fury!...

NARCISSUS But Fiorilla... shame on you...
Zaida, ohibò!... don't you blush?
Ah! talk to good women,
don't try your hand.
POET (enjoying the show)
Follow up... go... very good!
Here... there... well; in this way
fight, squeeze,
scratches... bites... I enjoy it...
what a final! what a finale!
Oh! what a fuss he's going to make.
Final close
ALL THE OTHERS
When the sudden wind puffing

shakes the woods, and strips them of
fronds, when the sea in a storm roars
foam, boils, scourges the shores,
less fan noise than two females
when they are rivals in love.
F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Second act
SECOND ACT
Scene before
Room in an inn. Tables with lights, etc.
Don Geronio and the Poet seated and drinking.
Recitative
POET Come on... what's the use?
From now on we must give ourselves
peace; she will soon come
here with her company to dine here:
then you can tell her about the fact; now drink,
and banish for just an instant
the capricious wife and the gallant.
GERONIO My dear Poet, I would give my head

to the wall, if I turn my thoughts to your
whims and to my blindness...
POET Suffering is needed.

(pouring him a drink)
Even a glass.
(I anticipate some encounters: the wine could
give the fool some courage, otherwise my
drama is already over.)
GERONIO Do you think the madwoman will

certainly come to this hotel?
POET Indeed, a dinner
it is truly splendid
prepared for her, and this night will be
spent with her companions in celebration and at stake.
GERONIO I'll know how to disturb you.

POET (pouring him a drink)
A little more.
Second scene
Selim and sayings.
SELIM By the way, friend, without

much looking for you, I'll find you here.
Great things I must tell you.
POET (New intrigue.)
Second act Turkish in Italy
GERONIO And I too longed to tell you

great things.
POET (I retire to
avoid every commitment and notice everything.)
(retires, and occasionally shows up exploring)
SELIM I am listening to you.
GERONIO Speak.
SELIM So we can sit down.
GERONIO How do you crave.
SELIM Now begin, if you like.
GERONIO No, you begin.
SELIM Well, I'll begin: how old are they

that you are married to
Donna Fiorilla?
GERONIO Soon there will be six. (Calm down, Geronio.)
SELIM Amor that passes five years must

be very tiring.
GERONIO In fact I am tired,

but very tired.
SELIM And marriage
it is a great burden among you.
GERONIO Everyone knows it

who feels it on his back.
SELIM (All right: wonderful.)
GERONIO (What speech!)
SELIM Then when he finds a bizarre

and capricious woman like your wife, the
poor husband...
GERONIO It's ruined.
SELIM
(Seguitiam polito.)
Now therefore you must find
yourself very dissatisfied with your state.
GERONIO You guessed it.
SELIM
I come friend, to
offer you a remedy, to get
you out of trouble; and you will not have
to work much for your rest.
GERONIO But... how!... you explain yourself.
SELIM You hate.
GERONIO I listen to you.
[No. 8 Duet]
SELIM Of a fine use of Türkiye
perhaps you will have a new
understanding; of the wife who
weighs him the husband is a seller.
GERONIO It will be very good use,

but in Italy it is more beautiful:
the husband breaks the
muzzle of the infamous tempter.
SELIM This will be nice too

but he must not enter between us.
GERONIO Indeed, this more than that I

should embrace.
SELIM But why?

GERONIO Our customs I like
to keep still.
Together
SELIM (He's not quite as foolish as

they want him to be.
Come on, judgement, my
head, here we need prudence and cor.)
GERONIO (I'm not as foolish as they want me

to be.
Come on, judgement, my
head, here we need prudence and cor.)
SELIM If Fiorilla wants to sell, I'll buy it

without making any further
discussion, and I'll pay you money to
buy even three if needed.
GERONIO Mister Turk, I said it, and I repeat it, I
don't sell my wife in person, and therefore,
whether she is good or bad, I... I took
my wife for myself.
SELIM (Damn!) But do you think...
GERONIO (loud and getting up)
I thought.
SELIM She warms up...
GERONIO I warm up, for sure.
SELIM AND GERONIO (A stranger and tougher brain I bet there

is no in the world.)
SELIM You do not want?

(angry)
GERONIO
No, look.
SELIM Do you refuse?
GERONIO Yes, I refuse.
SELIM
I want to have it in spite of you.
GERONIO He won't have it...
SELIM I know of another use...
GERONIO And it would be...
SELIM To steal her

away, and instead of paying
for her, the jester who opposes, to
make it quick, to kill her.
GERONIO
But you will have to fear that
instead of killing it would happen -
that it should stay here.
SELIM AND GERONIO
(threatening and withdrawing each other)
At rehearsals, come forward...

Hurry, ~ go, ~ try a little...
Reckless! in a few moments we will
see each other in another place;
and they will be stabbed,
shot, ~ musketted; and you will see
that I am not leaving
from frightening threats. (via
opposite side)
Third scene
Poet alone.
Recitative
POET
He believed that this scene

should hasten the conclusion; but the affair
goes on for a long time, and here it is necessary to
look for development to come quickly, and to
come naturally; then
I'll finish with a little moral.
O my brain, you get tired and sweaty, invent
my drama how it closes.
(part)
Fourth scene
Fiorilla with Continuation.
[No. 9 Chorus and cavatina]
CHOIR There is no perfect pleasure

if love does not procure it;
of games and of beloved
love he is the parent.
FIORILLA If the zephyr lands

to caress a flower, if it
goes from lily to rose, a
lovely butterfly every time,
butterfly and zephiretto
move the power of love.
CHOIR He is a parent of games and

of beloved love.
FIORILLA When the spring

laughs the first albor, when
whole nature takes on the
first honor, it is the aura of
delight that spreads
love on earth.
CHOIR There is no perfect pleasure

if love does not produce it.
(the choir begins to play)
Recitative
FIORILLA What an impertinent Turk! dare to dispute Fiorilla's lover! I
will know how to avenge myself on her: I want
her to be present at my triumph. At any cost I will
lower that fool's pride.
Have your Turkish then I don't want it.

I had her invited to this hotel in Selim's name;
come, and we will see who will win.
Fifth scene
Zaida and said.
ZAIDA (on the undecided door)

Sorry... you were wrong...
FIORILLA Come in, go ahead: I invited you.
ZAIDA (entering)
You!
FIORILLA
Yes: in a few
moments you will see Selim here.
On his heart I don't want your distance
to bring me any advantage. Now we'll have
to dispute it in peace:
he'll choose whoever he likes best of us.
ZAIDA Useless is the choice where
duty speaks, and where honor speaks.
FIORILLA Everything, everything, as we know, yields to love.
Here is Selim.
Sixth scene
Selim and said.
SELIM Finding you

alone at last, I believed, beautiful
Fiorilla, but you can't be alone for a moment.
FIORILLA You'll be happier when
everyone is observed and you
have your guests.
SELIM (noticing Zaida)

Zaida!
ZAIDA unfaithful.
SELIM
But how! in this hotel!
What does this mean?
FIORILLA
This inn was ornate
in her presence, to
see if you give me or
her preference. You decide.
ZAIDA Speak up.
SELIM
You put me in great ordeal.
ZAIDA Perfidious! I mean: here I myself was a spectator of my
wrongs.
SELIM Ah! no...

FIORILLA Matches
so with her.
SELIM
Not even.
ZAIDA Well: come.
SELIM But let me think for a moment...
ZAIDA think? No... Selim is

leaving with me, or you give up on me.
FIORILLA And for me,
if it doesn't stay here.

(Fiorilla walks away disdainful. Selim rises again uncertain and thoughtful)
SELIM (There is no equal mess.)
ZAIDA Cruel! no more: I understand what you

have love for me; I leave you in your rival's arms. One
day perhaps you will regret, but late, having so
mocked my affection;
when you will be betrayed by her. (part)
Scene seven
Fiorilla and Selim.
SELIM (Poor Zaida! I feel pity for her:

she doesn't deserve such rigor.)
FIORILLA (Speaking to herself: my victory is uncertain.)

You seem moved: don't you speak?...
Come on: run after her, and
console the grieving beauty.
SELIM No... go ahead... but at least let me pity her: she

adores me...
FIORILLA And I think

that you still love it.
SELIM The first item

of my love was Zaida...
FIORILLA And be it the extreme.
SELIM The extreme!
FIORILLA Goodbye: we will never see each other again.
SELIM Ah!... forgive me...
FIORILLA I don't want any lover to have his

heart divided between two women.
SELIM What do you say? for you alone I feel love.

For heaven's sake, calm
down, calm your indignation...
FIORILLA Go, go... you are unworthy of me.
SELIM Ungrateful! you drive me away...

Well... I'll leave.
FIORILLA You will do well.
SELIM Goodbye... (Lets me go!)
FIORILLA (Really he's off!)
SELIM (Politics is needed)
FIORILLA (It takes art.)
[No. 10 Duet]
SELIM (aside as if talking to himself)

Believe the females
who say they love you!
They disdain themselves for
nothing, they threaten to leave you.
As a woman, love is
a fire that dies
it just shone.
FIORILLA (playing the same game)
Believe these men around
you!
For all they sigh, they
don't love one day.
I am the summer aura
that you no longer find
as soon as he died.
SELIM (coming a little closer)
It is injustice to complain if a
faithful heart is despised.
FIORILLA (turning a little)
It is a fine thing to leave
without saying that one is unfaithful.
SELIM (running, and with force)
I'm not there.
FIORILLA I'm not talking to you.

SELIM As!
FIORILLA No.
SELIM It seems so.
FIORILLA In Italy of course...
SELIM In Türkiye for sure...

(with spite)
FIORILLA AND SELIM You don't make love like

this. (apart from both)
(But if the question lasts, it
takes hold, and goes away;
talk to the good ones and
then it will calm down.)
SELIM
So I can't hope!...
(pleading)
FIORILLA
So mocker I am!...
(moved)
SELIM (to kiss her hand)

Your hand...
FIORILLA (withdraw it with difficulty)
I cannot.
SELIM
My idol, forgive me!...
FIORILLA do you deserve it?
(with tenderness)
SELIM I love you.

(with transport)
FIORILLA And will you love me?...
SELIM
each.
(with all joy and tenderness)
Together
FIORILLA You love me, I see it, I

trust you, I believe
you; but come back,
my life, to tell me again.
If I am untrustworthy
to you, if I ever abandon
you, may peace
always be foreign to my heart.
SELIM You love me, I see it, I

trust you, I believe
you; but come back,
my life, to tell me again.
If I am treacherous
to you, if I ever abandon
you, may peace
always be foreign to my heart.
(they leave)
Eighth scene
Don Geronio, then the Poet, then Don Narciso aside.

Recitative
GERONIO Where the heck did she go? it's been almost an
hour since the table was ready for dinner,
and you still can't see it? perhaps it will be at
the feast dedicated to that Turk. (to exit)
POET Stop.
GERONIO What's up?
POET Great news.
GERONIO Explain
POET
yourself. It's prepared,
man, a kidnapping.
GERONIO What are you saying? and the real I feel?
(Don Narciso exits)
NARCISO (Fiorilla has left, and here they are! What are
they doing? Let's hear a little.)
POET At a party
Fiorilla has to go: there Selim awaits her
in a mask, who hopes to reduce her by
leaving with him for Turkey.
NARCISSUS (What I hear!)
GERONIO Wretched me!... oh my wife!...
POET Listen, I ran to Zaida to narrate
everything; dressed like her she will go to the

party; so that Fiorilla with the mask on her face will
appear.
As a Turk, you must enter there.
GERONIO Well then?...
POET Then you can

the deceived Fiorilla...
GERONIO I understood... let's go...

the more time we don't waste.
POET Heh! don't be afraid,

the last to appear will be
Selim: many of our friends to keep him at
bay he will find on the
street; in the meantime, go and get yourself
a mask and a dress.
GERONIO I run.
(part)
POET (My drama, I hope complete.) (parts)
[No. 11 Accompanied recitative and aria]

NARCISSUS (Don Geronio and the Poet leave, he comes out happy and hurried)
Intended: ah! all understood. In this hotel luck
guided me. Ungrateful woman, you will
not flee from me. I want to try
everything so that it
remains for me; la fé mi serberai, which you promised.
NARCISSUS
You follow my design, sweet

love, from which it comes to me.
Ah! refuse everyone a good
that you granted me one day.
If my rival let me down!
If I deceive an inconstant!
There is no equal
vengeance for an offended lover.
Ah! Yes; the hope
that I feel in my
heart, pitiful love,
I come to you.
(part)
Scene 9
The Poet, then Albazar.
Recitative
POET Oh! What a pain! what a hard brain!
I'm almost sure he's
got the lesson wrong,
and my second act spoils and ruins; but I
trust the guesser.
POET
Here is precisely Albazar. Ebben: did you

find the dress for Zaida?
ALBAZAR I found it.
POET Well done! much in my drama you will have.
ALBAZAR I desire nothing more than to see the poor girl

happy.
POET And your character,

although not sublime, will
not be without interest in everything,
if we run the fruit of our work.
ALBAZAR Now Zaida sends me here

to find out where the party is.
POET You are right: oh! what a head!

He had forgotten
the most important thing.
Goodbye: I run to Zaida in an instant. (part)
Tenth scene
Albazar alone.
ALBAZAR
Unhappy Zaida! now that he has found

the lover of his innocence, already
certain, he sees him in love with another
woman: is this the reward of his long faith?
[No. 12 Air]
ALBAZAR
Ah! it would be too sweet to

serve the god of love
if he aroused equal ardor in
that breast that did not feel it.
But the god we serve is
so capricious that it gives us
whom we do not desire, and
never who does. (part)
Scene eleventh
Dimly lit hall for dance party.
Chorus of Masks, Male and Female Dancers, Fiorilla, Don Narciso,
then Zaida and Selim, finally Don Geronio.
[No. 13 Chorus]
CHOIR
Love the dance moves,

Amor presides over the
sounds, only pleasure
is found when the heart is moved.
If in the midst of sounds and songs
the blind god appears,
the lovers are still blind, they let
themselves be bent.
Recitative
FIORILLA And Selim is nowhere to be seen!
Among so many people I

still can't find him... where will he be!
(Don Narciso exits, and looks at her carefully)
NARCISSUS (That is Fiorilla.)
FIORILLA (seeing Narcissus, and believing him Selim)

Oh yeah, here it is.
Selim...
(both in a low voice)
NARCISSUS Fiorilla...
FIORILLA It's a lot

did you wait?
NARCISSUS Forgive...
FIORILLA Give me your arm and walk with me.
(they get lost in the crowd, and the choir sings)
CHOIR
Love the dance moves,

Amor presides over the
sounds, only pleasure
is found when the heart is moved.
(Zaida exits followed by Selim)

Recitative
SELIM My dear Fiorilla, why are you silent?

Perhaps you are indignant
because I came a little late?
A thousand masks around me I found myself...
ZAIDA At least you had to disengage

sooner.
SELIM Heh! come on, sorry...

Fiorilla...
ZAIDA (Traditor! I'm all in focus.)
SELIM Take my arm, and let's walk a bit. (they get lost too)
CHOIR
If in the midst of sounds and songs the

blind god appears, the
lovers are still blind, they let
themselves be bent.
(Don Geronio exits)

Recitative
GERONIO Here I am: this is the first time

that in disguise I find myself at a party.
Poor Don Geronio!
Cursed be love, and marriage.
(Fiorilla comes out again with Don Narciso)
GERONIO
But what do I see! Fiorilla has already arrived.

And Selim is already with
him. (Zaida and Selim exit from the opposite side)
GERONIO
But how? another

I see Selim here, and she looks like Fiorilla to me
too... what a mess is this here?
(looking now one, now the other)
Which of them will be my wife?
(Fiorilla and Narciso will come from the right side, Selim and Zaida to the left; Don Geronio a little further back, and in the middle)
[No. 14 Quintet]
GERONIO Oh! look at that accident! I don't

know my wife anymore!
Equal Turkish, equal spoils.
All the same... what will I do?
NARCISSUS No, I cannot leave here without

you, my Fiorilla.
ZAIDA
But I cannot understand what my
fate will be.
SELIM
Ah! follow me to Türkiye, there I
will make you my bride.
FIORILLA My heart would like to persuade me, but
I don't know how to resolve myself.
Together
ZAIDA (Ah! second, pitiful love, my innocent

deception.)
Ah! if I am dear to you, I don't
know what to long for.
NARCISSUS (Ah! second, pitiful love, my innocent
deception.)
FIORILLA (Oh! merciful love restrains so many
affections of my heart.)
SELIM (Oh! merciful love restrains so many
affections of my heart.)
GERONIO
I am truly a handsome husband, I
no longer understand which of
them is my wife; should I speak,
yes or no?
NARCISSUS AND SELIM

So follow me.
FIORILLA AND ZAIDA Well, I'm with you.
GERONIO I am amazed, I go
blind.
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, (to leave)

NARCISSUS AND SELIM Let's go.
GERONIO (stopping them)

They leave!
Stop... high there.
SELIM What do you ask?

What do you want?
ZAIDA Be careful with

your business.
NARCISSUS
Geronio is this: come
quickly.
FIORILLA
Ah! ha! I understood:
he is my husband.
GERONIO You will stay

here, you will
not leave; I want my
wife, who is
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, here. Is your wife here?
NARCISSUS AND SELIM
Go crazy!
GERONIO
I want my wife.
CHOIR (runs to get in the way)
What a noise!
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, You will find
NARCISSUS, SELIM E it elsewhere.
CHOIR
GERONIO High! no one will

leave.
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, This accursed old man might

NARCISSUS AND SELIM
give us suspicion; hush,
hush, let's go outside before
he has to try anything.
GERONIO Ah! cursed bastard!
I tremble with anger and
spite... but listen to me,
gentlemen, but let me speak.
CHOIR
This accursed old man frets,
cries, spites.
Shut up, shut up, go outside.
Don't worry about it.
(they want to leave: out of his mind Don Geronio lashes out at each other to oppose; the two couples both retreat to the
opposite side: the choir gets in the way, and during this confusion follows:)
FIORILLA, ZAIDA, He's a madman... do you hear that?
NARCISSUS AND SELIM
(We'd better run away.)
Ah, hold it... prevent it...
(My idol, do not doubt.)
It's not that, it's not this...
You are mistaken; it is his head
that imagines it among them.
GERONIO
I'm not crazy! but listen... you
want to assassinate me...
Vo' my wife, do you understand
me?... but let me speak...
It will be that, it will be this...
this, that... my head can't
choose between them.
CHOIR You're crazy... but listen...

We don't come to disturb... what
you say will be true, but for
now leave it alone...
It's not that, it's not this... you are
mistaken; it is his head that
imagines it among them.
(Selim and Zaida leave from one side, Narciso and Fiorilla from the other: then the chorus. Geronio remains breathless and desperate)
Twelfth scene
Don Geronio, then the Poet.
Recitative
GERONIO Oh! how hot! I can't even articulate a

single word. I'd call
my head in the wall... ah! I can't see any more
shelter for such an evil...
I lose my wife... can it be worse?

GERONIO
Ah! Poet... you don't know.
POET Yes, I know everything; I met

Zaida together with Selim: I met her at the sign she
gave me.
GERONIO But Fiorilla

he was here too, and
he had a mask with
him that that Turk looked like.
POET Who will it be?

Come with me, everything will be known.
(they leave)
Scene thirteen
Inn room as before.
Albazar, with Porters coming to carry Selim's stuff.
ALBAZAR Blessed is the party, and who gave it!
Alfin has won Zaida, and in a few moments will

leave with Selim.
(to the porters)
Soon; the trunks
are transported to the sea without delay.
Let's go to the innkeeper to warn. (enter)
Scene fourteen
Don Geronio and the Poet, then Albazar who returns.
POET Everything is revealed. It was Narcissus.
GERONIO And how

could Narcissus?...
POET Of Fiorilla lover
he was too.
GERONIO What do you say? and I, fool,
I let him in freely!
POET Great blindness!
GERONIO
I didn't notice anything.
And where is that owl
now?
POET
After discovering
Narcissus, she left him, and went back to
feasting on her companions; or goes in
trace of the turkish.
GERONIO And what am I to do?
POET I'll tell you: I've already arranged it in my mind as if it were

a dramatic accident.
One day you told me that

tired of suffering his outrages, you proposed
to get Fiorilla away from
you, and you also
obtained a divorce.
GERONIO It's true, and I gave the sentence
to Paglietta.
POET Well.
Now you must have recourse to Paglietta,
and pretend without further compliments
that you are sending Fiorilla back to her relatives.
GERONIO But if she stubbornly despises

my fake divorce, and if she decides to leave
with the Turk, ah! dear friend, the party is over.
Albazar exits with Porters, trunks, etc.

ALBAZAR No, gentlemen: Fiorilla stays with you.
GERONIO Why?
ALBAZAR
Selim has made peace with
Zaida; he himself
sends me to get his stuff at the inn.
(part)
GERONIO Fate second us.
POET Maintain
steadfastness in every event.
(You can't give a better resolution.)
(they leave)
Scene fifteen
Square with don Geronio's casino.
Fiorilla with Masks, then Don Geronio.
FIORILLA (Who would have believed in this audacious sign Narciso!)

Here is the husband. Inver I feel a little mortified. But,
courage!
I know how much I can

compromise with him.
GERONIO (goes out)
(Here is the madwoman: I have a thousand furies upon me.)
FIORILLA Servant, my lord husband.
GERONIO Slave, my lady.
FIORILLA
So you think you
always make me frown like this?
So much noise!...
GERONIO (Now I crack here.)

Don't be afraid, miss,
I'll never make a fuss again...
I'll put a remedy... in the meantime, I
notice that I am more than a believer, that
no one ever sets foot in my house again.
(enters the house and closes)
Sixteenth scene
Fiorilla, then the Poet with an Usher.
FIORILLA I've never seen him so grumpy.
I'm almost starting to get a little scared.

FIORILLA
Oh Poet, come by the way:

where is Selim?
POET (Go and

(softly to the usher)
get the letter and the burden.)
FIORILLA Say: where is Selim?
POET He is busy.
FIORILLA How?
POET He made peace with Zaida.

Indeed, in a little while he
is leaving with it for Türkiye.
(Note everything, and observe, my muse.)
FIORILLA So has she won? perfidious! and I didn't care for him
the crowd of a thousand
lovers, the husband's spite?...
POET (Another blow, and we obtain the effect.)
FIORILLA Friends, just for a moment, if you

desire it, we can rest in my
house... (the usher leaves the
house with a paper and two servants carrying a burden)
POET High! wait.
This letter to you sends her husband.
FIORILLA What a whim! let's read.

(during the reading the usher leaves; the Poet withdraws without being seen. The servants remain with their clothes)
[No. 15 Accompanied recitative and aria]

FIORILLA
«I send you your

rags, and in my house I no longer want you: it is closed
for you, forget that you were my wife, and
your blush is buried in Sorrento.
Don Geronio." What a blow! alas! what do I hear?

Poet... he's gone... oh god! the doors of the house
are closed...
My irritated wife chased
me away forever... So must I go back to Sorrento? oh

my shame! ouch! what, what asylum to find! I have lost
everything.
Peace, husband, honour, I mean...
(to the servants who show the clothes)
Ah! these
the witnesses are of
my misery... Vain ornaments, what are you
doing with me now! keep them all, keep
them scattered on the ground; I trample on
you, causes of my trespasses, and I hate you.
(he strips off the ornaments he will have around him. The Poet shows himself from time to time, the surprised masks
look at each other)
FIORILLA
Shabby dress, and dark, with

distress and repentance, will
be the only ornament that
will be seen with me.
There is no mourning that is enough
for those who lose their honor.
POET (The deal went well, there is

nothing more to fear.)
CHOIR Friends, it behooves us to

turn away.
FIORILLA Dear father, beloved mother,

what grief will you feel, when
alone and despised your daughter
will see her disconsolate
return to her former poverty?
CHOIR Ask your husband for help, but

expect no mercy from us.
POET Well! good! reproaches! remorse!

My task drama will be.
FIORILLA False friends, you leave me!

Ah! I'm starting to get to know you fully.
You stay, if the sky is clear, you flee,
if it gets black.
The unfortunate, who oppresses
misfortune, has no more support and comfort.
CHOIR Whoever ruins himself causes only

accuses his blindness.
POET There is moral; ~ oh what a safe scene!

Oh what a meeting at the theater he will do!
(Fiorilla leaves on one side, followed by the servants, who carry the robes and masks on the other)
Scene seventeen
Poet, then Don Geronio.
Recitative
POET What a drama! I'm happy:

a better subject could not
be found, nor would one look for a knot in a
better way to envelop it.
Friend! wonderfully: crying, screeching,
remorse for tragedy.
GERONIO I thank you, my

poet. Do you think she is repentant,
and really correct?
POET Do I believe it?

Indeed wise forever I foresee her.
GERONIO And now, what is to be done?
POET Follow her

without being seen; and if she
complains, if she cries, if
she promises to change her habit and
live well, it is better to forgive her and take her back.
(they leave)
Scene eighteen
Beach as in the first act. Selim's ship is seen at anchor, and Turkish sailors
preparing to depart.
Fiorilla, then Don Geronio with the Poet.
FIORILLA Yes, I'm forced to leave; I have no courage

to present myself to him: my fault is grave.
This remote beach near
the port is always supplied with boats that
come and go from Naples to Sorrento... it's
here... The ship is Selim's. Had I never landed
on this shore, baleful ship!
POET Look at her: she sighs.
GERONIO She repents,

she truly repents.
POET Didn't he tell you?
Why are you undecided? go forward.
FIORILLA (Looks at me and approaches.)
POET He has discovered you, and is aiming for you.
FIORILLA (In my favor who

knows? maybe the first love speaks to him.)
[No. 16 Final second]

FIORILLA I am the withered vine on the field,
which lacked dear support.
GERONIO I am the elm whose vine was stolen,
and naked remained.
POET I am the lover, with a good heart,
who can join them again.
Together
FIORILLA He turns around me,

looks at me and sighs;
let's go forward,
appeased I think.
GERONIO AND POET He walks around
you, looks at you and
sighs; go ahead,
repentant I think.
GERONIO Dear vine...
FIORILLA Beloved elm...
POET
Oh what a beautiful allegory!
GERONIO To my heart...
FIORILLA To my soul...
FIORILLA AND GERONIO

...you may come back.
POET
The ending can't be wrong.
Together
FIORILLA
Come back, yes, in these arms,
dear elm, to green.
GERONIO
Come back, yes, in these arms,
dear vine, to green.
POET
Well done, yes, good luck to you!
Nothing can be missing from the drama.
Last scene
Selim, Zaida, chorus of Gypsies, Gypsies and Turks, then Geronio,
Fiorilla and Poeta who return, finally Narciso.
CHOIR
Make the sky clear to you,
let the winds be calm for you, and
may they bring you happy
to your homeland to breathe.
SELIM
Dear Italy, I abandon you,
but I will always have you in my heart.
That I am happy for you, I will
always remember.
ZAIDA Fiorilla is coming. Already with her
Don Geronio made peace.
POET
(Here is Turkish... I don't want to...
I'm sorry for this meeting.)
FIORILLA
I can't see it anymore.
(softly to Geronio)
GERONIO
A greeting for duty ... then
(softly to Fiorilla)
it's good to leave them here.
ZAIDA AND SELIM (coming closer)
Forgive our mistakes.
FIORILLA AND GERONIO

Forgiven already there are.
NARCISSUS Allow me, gentlemen, to

ask your forgiveness too!
Ah, the example you give me will
know how to correct me well.
POET The plot is finished, my

drama has a happy ending; and
happy as I am perhaps
the public will be.
EVERYONE
Stay happy, live

happy.
And you all learn that
the error is slight, if
love arises from the
more beautiful one.
(meanwhile Selim and Zaida, greeted by the others, and courted by the gypsies, will be seen approaching the
marina to embark: at this time the curtain falls)
Index Turkish in Italy
INDEX
Characters.............................................3 Scene one.............................................25
Scene two....... ...........................25
First act .............................................4
[No. 8 Duet].................................27
[Symphony].............................................4
Scene three........ .............................28
Scene one. .......................................4
[No. 1 Introduction].............................4 Scene four.................. ...................29
Second scene................. .................5 [No. 9 Chorus and cavatina]..................29
Scene three............................. ............5 Fifth scene....................... ...............29
Sixth scene............................. .......30
[No. 2 Cavatina].................................5
Scene seven.............................................31
Fourth scene........... ............................7
[No. 10 Duet]................................32
Fifth scene............... ....................8
Eighth scene.............. .........................34
[No. 3/1 Cavatina].............................8
[No. 3/2 Chorus, cavatina and duet]...8 [No. 11 Accompanied recitative and
Sixth scene................................... ......9 aria].............................................. ......35
Scene 9.............................................35
Seventh
Scene tenth.................................36
scene.............................................11
[No. 12 Air].................................36
Eighth scene.. ...................................11
Scene eleven........ .................37 [No.
[No. 4 Terzet]..............................12
13 Chorus]................................37 [No.
Scene 9............. ..........................13
[No. 5 Quartet]..............................14 14 Quintet]..............................38
Twelfth scene................ .............41
Scene ten.............. ......................14
Thirteenth scene.............................42
Scene eleven ............................. ....15
Twelfth scene.............................17 Fourteenth scene.. ....................42
Thirteenth scene........... ...................17 Fifteenth scene.............................43
Sixteenth scene.............................44
[No. 6 Duet].................................19
[No. 15 Accompanied recitative and
Scene fourteen.......... ............20
aria].............................................. ......45
Fifteenth scene.............................21
Scene seventeen.......................46
[No. 7 First ending].............................21
Scene eighteen.............. .............47
Sixteenth scene................. ...........21 Scene seventeen.......................22
[No. 16 Second
Act Two.............................................25 ending].............................47 Last scene............................
F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Significant passages
SIGNIFICANT SONGS
Dear Italy, I finally look at you (Selim) ......................................... .......................................... 9
Of a beautiful use of Türkiye (Selim and Geronio) ...................................... ........................... 27
Oh! look at that accident! (Geronio, Narciso, Zaida, Selim and Fiorilla) .................. 38
Please the lady (Geronio and Fiorilla) ............................................. ..................... 19

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Machine Translated by Google

THE TURKISH IN ITALY

Funny drama for music.

First performance: 14 August 1814, Milan.

Information Turkish in Italy

There is no shortage of reasons to write thank-you notes. Contributions and

booklet no. 110, first draft for www.librettidopera.it: September 2006.

In particular for this title we thank the National

F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Personages

SELIM Turkish prince who travels, once in

Donna FIORILLA capricious but honest

Don GERONIO weak and fearful man .......... BASS

Don NARCISO knight servant of woman

Prosdocimo POET and acquaintance of don

ZAIDA once a slave and betrothed to

ALBAZAR first confidant of Selim, then

Chorus of Gypsies and Gypsies, Turks, Masks.

Extras from Friends of Fiorilla, Gypsies, Turks, and Masks.

Act One Turkish in Italy

credulous ignorance of others

ZAIDA Everyone's heart is happy, I'm the

I have lost my love, and I

ALBAZAR Console yourself once; have

Come on... courage! it's up to you

POET I have a funny drama to do, and I

ZAIDA, ALBAZAR E Exalted in every part

POET As! gypsies! by bacchus! joy,

ZAIDA, ALBAZAR E Our homeland is the whole world, and in

credulous ignorance of others

F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Act One

POET Good! good! it's true, it's true, the

Ah! if the arrival of these gypsies

I'm going in search of a gypsy

Act One Turkish in Italy

GYPSIES Who wants to be an astrologer!

GERONIO Here is a group of gypsies

GYPSIES The past we will tell you.

GYPSIES The present we will find out.

GERONIO I know too.

GYPSIES So the future?

GERONIO What was that?

GYPSIES What destiny!

F. Romani / G. Rossini, 1814 Act One

POET Well done! I understood everything;

does it draw you wandering here?

ALBAZAR Our cases

POET (Good!) You must have

ALBAZAR And his troubles

POET What happened to you?

ZAIDA Listen: he loved me, and

POET A beautiful thought comes to me

arrive this evening, who is traveling to visit

ZAIDA It seems strange

Act One Turkish in Italy

POET The case is very rare indeed.

You say: best idea...

ALBAZAR It could not be found.

ZAIDA Is it easy for

the prince to enter?

POET If you yearn to return to Selim

ZAIDA Yes: I have no

(they leave for the hill)