Il crociato in Egitto (The Crusade in Egypt) is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March, 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti; the opera was probably the last ever written to feature a castrato. It is the last of Meyerbeer's series of operas in Italian, and became the foundation of the composer's inte...
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Il crociato in Egitto (The Crusade in Egypt) is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March, 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti; the opera was probably the last ever written to feature a castrato. It is the last of Meyerbeer's series of operas in Italian, and became the foundation of the composer's international success.
After its successful Venetian premiere, Il Crociato was the first of Meyerbeer's operas to be performed in London (His Majesty's Theatre, 3 June 1825, also with Velluti in the cast). This encouraged Rossini, who was then managing the Théâtre-Italien, to arrange for its performance in Paris, where the role of Armando was taken by the mezzo-soprano, Giuditta Pasta. Over the next twenty to thirty years the opera was performed in almost every major opera house in Europe, and even in Mexico City, Havana and Constantinople.
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