Orientalism in Rossini’s Tancredi

Blog post only

Whenever I come across an old work of art, I like to see how the story and the morale stacks up in today’s world. This is especially true when the story shows Europeans interacting with foreign cultures.

So I came across Gioachino Rossini’s Tancredi (1813), set in and around 11th century Syracuse, Sicily (Tancredi – Wikipedia). It is based on a Voltaire play, but I am not familiar with that version.

In Rossini’s version, Syracuse is a city-state under Byzantine (ie Christian) control but under threat of Saracen (ie Arab) armies. Amenaide, a daughter of a noble family, gets engaged to the son of another noble family under pressure of her family in order to mend internal divisions. But Amenaide is secretly in love with Tancredi, a Syracusan soldier that has been banished. The reasons of his banishment are not revealed, but Amenaide’s family (as well of Syracuse) would be repelled to find out Amenaide’s secret desire. But the Syracusans are also depicted as conniving and backstabbing, so perhaps Tancredi was banished for no fault of his own. Either way, we are meant to root for Amenaide and Tancredi.

But Syracusan general Solamir is also in love with Amenaide. Just how Solamir got to know (or know about) Amenaide is unclear. It’s not like Syracusans and Saracens had many opportunities to interact on a day-to-day basis. Solamir’s love is unrequited and ultimately unsuccessful. And though Solamir tries to conquer Syracuse, he seems to fight nobly and without trickery. So overall, Solamir comes across pretty noble, certainly in contrast with the warring Syracusans.

There is a moment in the opera where Amenaide’s secret letter to Tancredi is intercepted and mistakenly interpreted as addressed to Solamir. The Syracusans are shocked and repelled by the betrayal. Implicit in this is that the thought of a noble daughter marrying an Arab is repulsive. It is not just the idea of marrying an outsider or even someone from a different class: it is as if there is a fundamental barrier that separates the Christian Italians and the Muslim Arabs. This time, the audience is meant to share in the Syracusan’s prejudice – showing that that prejudice is still very much alive in 1813.

The obvious answer for Amenaide would be to disavow the letter and explain that it wasn’t addressed to Solamir at all. Instead, she stays silent, happy for her fellow citizens to think less of her. Surely, for Syracusans and the early 19th century audience, having feelings for a fellow, though banished, citizen would be less shameful than feelings for a Saracen? Just what did Tancredi do to earn such a low view of the Syracusans? Or is it a plot hole?

Obvious disclaimers: this is not advice. These views are my own and do not necessarily represent my employer.