The origins of the libretto to L'esule di Granata are obscure. The original libretto that Meyerbeer agreed to set was called "Almanzone," and was written by Gaetano Rossi. The contract signed between the two was with a theatre in Rome. However, the author of the libretto to L'esule di Granata, which draws on story elements similar to Rossi's, is by Felice Romani, and was premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on March 12, 1822. The libretto is derived from a French work called "Gonzalve de Cordove, ou Grenade Reconquise," written in 1793. Set in fifteenth-century Grenada during the reign of the Moors, the opera contains an appropriately romantic "Oriental" element. Conspiracy, romance, and intrigue are all part of the plot's magic. Meyerbeer's penchant for large scenic structures has fully come to the fore in this opera, creating dramatic units and subunits. The orchestra is integrated into the drama, and the composer has begun to show his particular genius for chamber orchestrations.

© Rita Laurance, All Music Guide