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LITALIANA IN ALGERI is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli Rossini composed Litaliana in Algeri when he was 21 in either 18 or 27 days depending on which source one believes Rossini not surprisingly pegged it at 18 It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813 The music is characteristic of Rossinis style remarkable for its fusion of sustained manic energy with elegant pristine melodies The plot in brief Isabellas lover Lindoro has been kidnapped and in her search for him she is shipwrecked and taken captive by Mustafa Bey of Algiers To her amazement and delight she finds Lindoro among the Beys prisoners Isabella hatches a plot that involves flirtation and stealth and together she and Lindoro escape Marilyn Horne Pablo Montarsolo Douglas Ahistedt and Allan Monk star in this legendary Metropolitan Opera production conducted by James Levine