Rossini’s opera Maometto II is probably better known in its French adaptation as Le siège de Corinthe. It is a tragic story of love and betrayal, in which the Venetian Anna Erisso falls in love with a man she supposes to be an ally of her father, but who is in fact the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II in disguise. In this version, revised for Venice in 1822, Rossini adapted the opera to the more conventional tastes of the Venetian public, who demanded a happy ending. The tragic suicide of Anna is replaced by the victory of the Venetians over the forces of the Sultan, and she survives to marry her father’s lieutenant, who is loyal to her father and country.