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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: The girl Ayesha is first soprano, Hafsa second soprano; Abubekir is a
bass, Omar a baritone.
"Mahomet returns, inspired. He sings his first /bravura/ air, the
beginning of the /finale/ (E major), promising the empire of the world
to those who believe in him. The Prophet seeing the two damsels, then,
by a gentle transition (from B major to G major), addresses them in
amorous tones. Ali, Mahomet's cousin, and Khaled, his greatest
general, both tenors, now arrive and announce the persecution; the
magistrates, the military, and the authorities have all proscribed the
Prophet (/recitative/). Mahomet declares in an invocation (in C) that
the Angel Gabriel is on his side, and points to a pigeon that is seen
Gambara |
