About the work
Tancredi is an opera (melodramma eroico) in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, premiered in Venice in 1813. The libretto, after Voltaire and Tasso, was Rossini's first great success in the serious genre (opera seria) and established his international fame at only 20 years of age.
Plot
In medieval Syracuse, the exiled knight Tancredi secretly returns to fight for his homeland against the Saracens and to see his beloved Amenaide again. Through an intercepted letter, however, Amenaide falls under suspicion of treason and infidelity. Tancredi, believing her guilty, is deeply wounded but nevertheless defends her honour in a duel. Only after battles, misunderstandings, and Amenaide's steadfast innocence is the intrigue cleared up.
Cultural significance
Tancredi established Rossini as the leading opera composer of his time and contains, in the aria Di tanti palpiti, one of the most famous bel canto melodies, which immediately became popular throughout Europe. The trouser role of Tancredi is among the great parts for mezzo-soprano or contralto. The work marks a milestone of bel canto opera and experienced a significant renaissance in the twentieth century, especially through great Rossini interpreters.