The Siege of Belgrade

A siege on the London stage

Austrian forces took Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in October 1789. Little more than a year later Storace and James Cobb brought the siege to Drury Lane, while the war was still being settled; the treaty that ended it was signed only on 4 August 1791.

Storace combined music of his own with numbers adapted from the Viennese repertory he knew at first hand.

The story

The synopsis follows the libretto printed in Dublin in 1791.

Act I

Act I opens in a Serbian village beside the Danube, with the Turkish camp on one side and the Austrian camp visible in the distance. Turkish soldiers and dancing peasants establish the setting. Yuseph, a Turkish magistrate, boasts of his access to the Seraskier, commander of the Turkish army.

Lilla seeks protection from her brother Peter, who favours Yuseph’s suit over that of Leopold, the man she loves. The Seraskier promises assistance but is himself attracted to her. At Peter’s house, Peter and his fiancée Ghita quarrel; Leopold’s attempts to recover Lilla bring him into conflict with Peter and Yuseph, and he is arrested.

At Anselm’s cottage, Colonel Cohenberg explains his plan to lead an Austrian attack with the villagers’ assistance and rescue his wife Catharine, who has been captured while following him. Anselm identifies a ruined convent used as the Seraskier’s seraglio. The act returns to the Seraskier’s tent, where Lilla resists his advances. Ghita appeals for Leopold’s release, and the act ends with his restoration to liberty.

Act II

Act II begins in the convent, where Catharine laments her captivity. Cohenberg gains admission to the Seraskier by presenting himself as an Austrian deserter and delivering a letter written in his own name. Catharine recognises him, while the Seraskier believes that he can win the Austrian commander to the Ottoman cause.

Cohenberg’s attempt to pass Catharine a private letter exposes his identity and his intended rescue. He is imprisoned as a spy. Elsewhere, the action moves through a wood and the village to Peter’s house. The Seraskier and Ismael approach Lilla and Ghita in disguise, provoking the jealousy of Leopold and Peter. At the wedding supper, the Seraskier’s offstage serenade interrupts the festivities, and his men carry off Lilla.

At the Turkish watch tower, Cohenberg refuses to purchase his life and Catharine’s freedom by betraying the Austrian attack and renouncing his faith. Catharine is taken away by horsemen. As the executioners place a bowstring round Cohenberg’s neck, the Austrians storm the tower and release him. The act closes with the drinking chorus of the peasants and soldiers.

Act III

Act III opens in the Seraskier’s tent. Lilla tells Fatima that she intends to leave and then helps Catharine escape. As they depart, the Austrians cut down the tent and the Turkish camp is seen burning in the distance.

The action moves to Cohenberg’s house, now in Austrian hands. Yuseph, dressed as an Austrian officer, offers Lilla pearls and is turned out of doors; she has also overheard where he has buried his treasure. Leopold’s jealousy over the pearls leads to a quarrel with Lilla, resolved in their duet. Peter and Leopold recover the treasure from a tomb in the Turkish burial ground, thrash Yuseph and make him help carry it to Cohenberg. Catharine, pursued by the Turks, is protected by Peter, Leopold, Yuseph and Michael. The Seraskier, determined to recover her, goes off to war.

The final scene shows the castle and a view of Belgrade. Gunfire, a skirmish and individual combats stage the siege, culminating in Cohenberg’s defeat of the Seraskier in a sword fight. Yuseph and Ismael change sides, and Lilla, Ghita and Catharine join the assembled characters for the final chorus.

The people of the opera

The first cast

Engravings of the original singers in other roles; all public domain. Portraits of the characters, and a film based on them, are in preparation.

Performance history

The opera held the stage in Britain and America well into the nineteenth century.

Belgrade, 1989

On 1 December 1989 the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra performed the opera in concert at Sava Centar, in an orchestration by the conductor Angel Šurev.

[Further performances to be added.]