ACT 1

Scene 1. Pirates' Island in the Aegean Sea
The opera opens with a band of pirates singing an ode to their free and glorious lives. Their leader Corrado watches them, signalling his approval. He displays a certain nobility of character as he heroically roars his appreciation of their chosen lifestyle and their eagerness for war. His first recitative reveals a complex, contradictory man, who is simultaneously a man of noble instincts, and a man at war with the world.

In the beautifully contoured Verdian melody which characterises his aria, Tutto pareo sorridere, Corrado reveals his disillusionment with the world, He bemoans his fate, which for a short moment seemed to smile at him, only to suddenly and inexorably cheat him out of everything dear to him, including his love and innocence. His reminiscences are interrupted by Giovanni, his henchman and second in command, who brings him a note just delivered by a Greek spy. The note alerts him to a possible attack from the Turks under Pasha Seid. His response is swift. He demands that his men be ready to sail within the hour, and announces that he himself will lead them to battle. In a stirring cabaletta, All'ormi, All'armi, Corrado rallies his men to attack the musulman Turks in their city of Corone.

Scene 2. Medora's apartment in a tower overlooking the sea
Medora, Corrado's beloved, is staring out to sea waiting her sweethearts arrival. In an inspired aria, Non so /e tetre immagini, she sings of her loneliness, bemoaning the long hours spent away from her lover. As the aria progresses her mood becomes darker; finally revealing her foreboding that one day he may not come back. Corrado finally arrives but only to tell her that he must leave her for a few days. This only increases her sense of foreboding and she begs him not to leave. He insists that duty demands it and reassures her of his imminent return. When she continues to despair for his return, he proclaims that an arcane voice has promised his return. Even this assurance fails to alleviate her sense of doom, and he is forced to leave her broken hearted.

ACT II

Scene I. Pasha Seid's harem, in the City of Corone
Gulnara, the Pasha's favourite, is attended by slave girls who sing of her delectable beauty whilst dressing her in beautiful robes and adorning her with precious gems. Although Seid loves her, Gulnara believes that her life in the harem is not much better than that of a prisoner. Consequently, she has learned to hate the restrictions of the harem and the Pasha himself. In her aria, bola talor dal carcere, she reveals her feelings of oppression and hatred, finally expressing the hope that someday heaven will provide her with freedom.

Scene 2. A pavilion on the shore of the harbour
The Turks anticipate their victory in a rousing chorus. Seid enters and leads his men in a hymn of praise to God, SalveAllah. A slave enters, bringing in Corrado, disguised as a Dervish who escaped from the Pirates. Seid questions him about his enemies but in a beautiful duet, Io non vedea the it Carcere, Corrado tells him that he was imprisoned in the hull of the ship and consequently knows nothing about his enemies, except that they deride the Pasha's power. This diversionary strategy creates an opportunity for Corrado's pirates to set fire to the Turkish ships. In the ensuing battle, the pirates are overwhelming their enemies, but suddenly a call for help is heard from within the palace. A glance reveals that the fire that destroyed the Pasha's ships also sparked a fire within the harem. Corrado gallantly diverts his men to the rescue effort, thereby saving Gulnara and the other harem girls from the inferno. This gives Pasha Seid and his soldiers the opportunity to recover. The pirates are finally defeated and Corrado is captured. This situation is pregnant with possibilities and Verdi does not disappoint, providing us with one of his most powerful ensembles, Audace cotanto, in which each voice is presented with the opportunity to vent that character's preoccupation.

ACT III

Scene 1. Seid's room in the fortress
Seid is celebrating his victory over the Pirates, but an unrelenting presentiment disturbs him. Is it possible that Gulnara has fallen in love with his arch enemy? In a hauntingly beautiful aria, Cento leggiadre vergini, he laments his fate, which has allowed hundreds of beautiful maidens to seek his love, whilst he loves only Gulnara, who seems to bare him only contempt. In the following duet he questions her feelings. Her answers only serve to confuse him, until she begs him to spare Corrado's life, an action which confirms his worst fears. Seid reaffirms Corrado's death sentence and threatens Gulnara's life at the first hint of disloyalty. Seid rushes out of the hall, leaving Gulnara to curse him as he goes.

Scene 2. A prison in the fortress
Corrado is in prison, and in the most haunting melody in the score, a meditation with string obligato, he reflects on his fate. He concludes that he does not personally fear death or torture, but laments the effect his death will have on Medora. He finally prays for sleep so that the hours may pass more quickly and his wish is granted.

Gulnara comes to him and reveals that she has begged for his life but that her prayers have fallen on deaf ears, Seid wants him dead. Consequently she has taken control of the situation, bribing guards and officials in order to set him free. Corrado is moved by Gulnara's determination to gain his freedom, especially when she announces that a vassal is waiting to take them to safety. Consequently, he is rather taken-aback by her announcement that all that remains to be done 'is to kill the Pasha and their escape is assured'. When he refuses to wield the dagger on a sleeping man, Gulnara snarls her derision at Corrado's ingratitude and promptly grasps the dagger and heads towards Seid's quarters. Left alone, Corrado becomes aware of a storm raging outside. He prays for the lightning to strike the fortress, destroying it and himself. His prayers are in vain. Gulnara returns wielding a bloody knife. She has murdered Pasha Seid whilst he was sleeping. No longer defiant, she is now staggering under the burden of her horrific crime. Corrado too is horrified, and tries to console this poor woman, whom he now recognises as being more miserable than himself. She confesses her love for him, but reluctantly he admits that he does not return her affection. At the end of this dramatic duet, he resolutely tells her that 'if he is destined not to love her, then at the very least he can save her'. They resolve to escape together.

Scene 3. Pirates' Island in the Aegean Sea
Medora, thinking her Corrado has died, has taken poison. As she is dying, surrounded by her friends, she longs to see Corrado once more. A ship is seen approaching. It is the returning Corrado who soon lands, accompanied by Gulnara. Corrado is distraught by the revelation that Medora, who believed him dead, had decided to join him in death. The sight of Gulnara unsettles Medora. Corrado explains that he had saved her from the burning harem and she in turn had saved him from certain death. Gulnara hastens to add that although she loves him, her love was not reciprocated, and that his love for Medora has remained untarnished. This beautiful and dramatically effective trio ends with Medora's death and the desperate Corrado hurling himself into the sea.