Die Entführung aus dem Serail in the context of "Seraglio"

A Singspiel (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪŋʃpiːl] ; plural: Singspiele; lit. 'sing-play') is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like. Singspiel plots are generally comic or romantic in nature, and frequently include elements of magic, fantastical creatures, and comically exaggerated characterizations of good and evil.

Christoph Friedrich Bretzner (10 December 1748 – 31 August 1807) was a Leipzig merchant famous for writing the libretto to a singspiel entitled Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail, produced in Berlin and adapted in 1782 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gottlieb Stephanie as Die Entführung aus dem Serail.He died on 31 August 1807 after arriving for a theatrical performance in Leipzig.

Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("Belmonte and Constance, or The Abduction from the Seraglio") by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner is a libretto, published in 1781, telling the story of the hero Belmonte, assisted by his servant Pedrillo, attempting to rescue his beloved Constanze from the seraglio of the Pasha Selim. First set to music by Johann André and performed as a singspiel in Berlin in 1781, it became famous as the story on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart based his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio).