Mozart left his Singspiel Zaide unfinished, but its wonderful music is most definitely still worth performing. And which director is better suited to staging this tale of slavery and love than Peter Sellars, who is famous for the tremendous passion with which he confronts political and intercultural questions in his productions and interprets classical operas in altogether convincing ways? "In Zaide", Sellars insists, "Mozart was attempting to construct a musical and dramatic bridge between Europe and the Muslim world, replacing the 'menace' perceived on both sides with mercy and compassion."

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