8. A Day in Turkey; or The Russian Slaves (1791)
Music by Joseph Mazzinghi, text by Hannah Cowley.

Joseph Mazzinghi, The Songs Duets and Chorusses, as Performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the Comedy of A day in Turkey, or, The Russian slaves, (London: Printed for George Goulding, [1791])
RCM Library, H216/4
 

Performed during the pantomime season, this oriental musical comedy was probably conceived as an alternative to pantomime, as was Colman’s Blue Beard. Reviews labelled it a ‘tragi–comedy–operatical–pantomimical farce’, and considered the sofa scene only fit for pantomime. The play used a French conte (tale) about the Sultan’s boredom with compliant harem women and his growing love for a spirited foreign slave. Cowley adds a sub plot taken from The Siege of Belgrade, and includes a French emigrée servant who makes glib remarks about the French revolution. Mazzinghi set seven songs and a traditional Turkish March for the first grand entry of the Sultan.
 

Joseph Mazzinghi, The Songs Duets and Chorusses, as Performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the Comedy of A day in Turkey, or, The Russian slaves, (London: Printed for George Goulding, [1791])
RCM Library, H216/4