© Protected - Classical Music in Poland and the Europe of Chopin - Reviewer's Notebook

The irresistibly flirtatious Fiorilla and Prince Selim the Turk Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) wrote Il Turco in Italia in 1814. The work has seldom been fully appreciated as such an entertaining opera buffa.  As it was recently staged in Poland,  I think it interesting and instructive to briefly examine the rather exotic Polish-Turkish relations of the past.  Over the centuries this fascinating and involved subject has had a profound influence on Polish history. This was especially true in the 17th century at the spectacular Siege and subsequent Battle of Vienna (12th September 1683) that witnessed the victory of the Polish Husaria or Winged Cavalry under the command of King Jan Sobieski over the vastly superior military forces of the Ottoman Empire under the Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha.  H istoric relations between the two countries were initiated around 1414 with a Polish mission to the Ottoman Empire. Many wars followed over territ...