Lo schiavo

Lo schiavo (O escravo in Portuguese, The Slave in English) is an opera in four acts by the Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes.

The Italian libretto was by Rodolfo Paravicini [Wikidata] (1828–1900), after a 1876 play, Les Danicheff, by Alexandre Dumas fils and the travel experiences of Alfredo Taunay.

As Gerard Béhague explains, "Lo schiavo is considered in Brazil to be the best of Gomes's operas, as it reflects a national subject which required and was given new treatment.

[3] Also in 1889, in her first presentation as the first female conductor in Brazilian history, Chiquinha Gonzaga conducted Lo schiavo in the presence of Carlos Gomes, her close friend, who paid her homage.

[3] Work on the libretto began in 1881 with a rough, four-act sketch created by Taunay taking inspiration from slavery and featuring a black protagonist.

Being fed up with his son's love interest, the Count sends Americo to Rio de Janeiro to fight against the native uprising and promises to ratify his marriage to Illara when he returns.