Prompt:
After finishing L’itliana in Algeri and knowing a bit more about the historical context, do you feel that the opera is and example of, as Saide puts it, “texts that happily co-existed with or lent support to the global enterprise of Europe and American empire?” — or that it is a prototypical European entertainment, at best aimed as commentary on the political situation in Italy during the early 19th century? Do you feel the characters are more Italian/Turkish, i.e. nationalistic/cultural in nature or more a derivation of the commedia dell’arte (or other) archetypes? Please give examples.
If you would like to investigate commedia dell’arte types more, here is the website that is quite extensive in character names and descriiptions: https://www.tim-shane.com/Commedia-Innamorati.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzlj37Byd3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Js7aRMeOA
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27italiana_in_Algeri
including a reference to one of the readings
(LINK -Pappataci and Kaimakan
Reflections in a Mediterranean Mirror AS REFERENCE)