“A woman can do what she likes”: Rossinian love in L'Italiana in Algeri

While love and opera are commonly associated, the comic operas of Gioachino Rossini are not the first to come to mind. Instead, Rossini has a reputation for detachment, irony, and a lack of realism; absent too is the psychological insight of Mozart and the sentimentality of Donizetti and Bellini. This study argues against these assertions by exploring the notion of Rossinian love in L’Italiana in Algeri which premiered in 1813, libretto by Angelo Anelli. Based on an analysis of the opera as an opera buffa and the contemporary Italian experience, such as the Barbary pirates, European slavery, and cicisbeism, the type of love exhibited by each character is described. Conclusions are drawn by comparing Rossini and Mozart and the changes that occurred in between their productive lives.