Polish Royal Opera (Polska Opera Królewska)
Gioachino Rossini: L’Italiana in Algeri
L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is one of the works of Rossini that sealed the young composer’s high position and opened the doors to international fame. The two-act dramma giocoso, first staged in Venice in May of 1813, met with such great applause from the audience that soon the title appeared on the posters of theaters not only in Italy but also throughout Europe.
With taste, but also with panache, the composer parodies what is characteristic of the opera seria genre. Extensive arias with the choir, sophisticated coloraturas, grotesque dialogues, ironic sighs – all these means are harnessed in the service of entertainment. The extraordinary intelligence of the title Italian girl contrasts with the debauchery of Bey Mustafa, bored with his wife and submissive harem. The other characters also have spirit, which is appropriately reflected in the variety of musical means. Let us not forget the added orientalism, so fashionable in the 19th century, and the fact that this thrilling tale is based on a true story. Therefore, it is not surprising that Piotr Kamiński sees in this work “[…] the specificity and… modernity of Rossini’s comedy, where madness is musical, unreal – weightless”.
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
Conductor: Dawid Runtz
Stage Director: Jitka Stokalska
Set and Costume Designer: Marlena Skoneczko
Choreographer: Alisa Makarenko
Lighting Designer: Karolina Gębska
Video Designer: Marek Zamojski
Chorus Master: Karol Kanpiński
Second Conductor: Karol Szwech
Assistant Stage Directors:
Sławomir Jurczak
Agnieszka Kozłowska
Cast:
Mustafà — Paweł Michalczuk
Elvira — Tatjana Hempel-Gierlach
Lindoro — Sebastian Mach
Isabella — Zuzanna Nalewajek
Zulma — Dorota Lachowicz
Haly — Samuel Ferreira
Taddeo — Witold Żołądkiewicz
Mimes:
Maja Aleksandra Bilek, Aleksandra Bożek, Jerzy Klonowski, Maciej Jan Kraśniewski, Alisa Makarenko, Bartłomiej Marszałek, Marta Pieczul, Klara Twardowska
The Chorus of the Polish Royal Opera
The Orchestra of the Polish Royal Opera
Dagmara Dudzińska, piano
Duration
Act I — 1 hour 6 minutes
Intermission — 20 minutes
Act II — 1 hour 10 minutes
The presentation of Gioachino Rossini’s opera L’Italiana in Algeri, performed by the Polish Royal Opera at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland within the framework of the Inspiring Culture programme.
