Filled with soaring melodies, virtuosic bel canto vocal lines and exhilarating choruses,  Verdi's thrilling 1848 opera Il Corsaro plunges into Lord Byron's swashbuckling world of pirates and pashas and passions. The pirate Corrado, ignoring his beloved Medora's deadly visions, sets sail and attacks the palace of his enemy Pasha Seid.  During battle, the harem is set ablaze. Corrado rushes to save Gulnara and other enslaved women, but he is captured and imprisoned. The fiery Gulnara, desperate for freedom, sneaks into the dungeon with a dagger and implores the pirate to kill the sleeping pasha. When Corrado refuses, Gulnara ventures out and murders Seid herself, frees Corrado and other captives, and they sail back to the pirate cove. But tragedy awaits, and Medora's dark visions come true.