The Saracen (opera)

The Saracen (Сарацин in Cyrillic, Saracin in transliteration), is an opera by César Cui composed during 1896-1898. The libretto was written by Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov and the composer, based on a play by Alexandre Dumas (père) entitled Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux. The opera was premiered on 2 November 1899 (Old Style), in Saint Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre, with Eduard Nápravník as conductor. It was staged also in 1902 by the Moscow Private Opera at the Solodovnikov Theatre, but never became part of the standard operatic repertoire.

The Saracen can be understood to some extent as a sequel to Tchaikovsky's opera The Maid of Orleans in that later events involving the same French monarch are involved.

The action takes place in France of the early 15th-century, in the castle of Count Savoisy.

Act I. A chorus of archers makes merry while the Count is away. When André shows everyone the stag that he has just killed, Yaqoub relates a story about how he as a boy in Egypt had killed a lion preying on his father's herd.

Raymond enters, reminding Yaqoub of saving the latter's life, and presents a letter from Pope Benedict XIII, to which all but Yaqoub cross themselves. The noise of calls for his death brings in Bérangère, who dismisses everyone except for Yaqoub. She asks him what the trouble is, and he relates what his life was like before being taken prisoner by Raymond. When she tells that her own suffering is greater than his, he sees her as a comforting angel, and promises to kill the person who is making her unhappy.

The Chaplain enters with the people to say prayers for Savoisy to have an heir. He reads from the Biblical story of Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar. As they pray, Raymond commands Yaqoub to kneel, but the Saracen's refusal brings about a conflict in which Yaqoub kills Raymond with a dagger. Count Savoisy appears on the scene and calls for a trial of Yaqoub, whereupon the Chaplain leads a prayer for Raymond.

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