About the work
Torvaldo e Dorliska is a dramma semiserio in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Cesare Sterbini, who later also wrote the libretto for "The Barber of Seville". It premiered on 26 December 1815 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, based on Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray's novel "Les Amours du chevalier de Faublas".
Plot
The Duke of Ordow ambushes his rival Torvaldo to claim Torvaldo's bride Dorliska, believing he has killed him. Torvaldo survives, however, and infiltrates the duke's castle disguised as a shepherd to rescue Dorliska. When the population, oppressed by the tyrannical duke, rises up against him, he is arrested and the lovers are reunited.
Cultural significance
Despite only modest critical success, the opera remained in the repertoire in several Italian cities for about twenty-five years before falling into obscurity. The autograph score is now held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.