About the work
Zaide is an unfinished German Singspiel that Mozart composed in 1779/80 and set aside in 1781; an overture, a conclusion and the spoken dialogue are still missing. The libretto is by Johann Andreas Schachtner. The fragment was not staged until posthumously, on 27 January 1866 in Frankfurt am Main.
Plot
Sultan Soliman desires the enslaved European Zaide, who loves her fellow captive Gomatz instead. With help from the sultan's confidant Allazim, the two attempt to escape but are recaptured. The surviving material breaks off as the three plead for mercy before the enraged sultan.
Cultural significance
With its themes of slavery and arbitrary rule, "Zaide" is regarded as a serious forerunner of the comic "Die Entführung aus dem Serail", which Mozart completed two years later.