After 60 years, the musical comedy The Italian Woman in Algiers returns to the stage of the Ljubljana Opera

An opera in two acts directed by Emanuele Gamba and under the direction of the conductor Marco Guidarini will be premiered trees at 7:30 p.m.

A big hit that was soon forgottenRossini’s An Italian woman in Algierswhich was first performed at the San Benedetto Theater in Venice on May 22, 1813, is not often on the schedule of opera houses, as they much more often choose his The Barber of Seville. But it was the Italian woman in Algiers who brought him recognition at the age of 21. In a short time, the work was included in the repertoire of almost all major European opera houses, but later it sank into oblivion.

According to the artistic director of SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana Marko Hribernik this work represents a great challenge – both for the musicians and the conductor, as well as for the director and the staging team. There is a lot of humor and beautiful music in it, and the entire Ljubljana singing ensemble with a few guests was hired to perform it.

The Italian woman in Algiers was therefore a big hit in Rossini’s time, and according to the conductor, it shows similarities with AW to Mozart and his opera Escape from Seraj. At that time, there was considerable enthusiasm for the Turks and their fashion on European soil. As Guidarini explained, he approached the performance in a way that would emphasize its elegance, comedy and rhythmicity, which otherwise comes from the libretto Angelo Anelli.

The complexity of today’s times in the characters of the central charactersDirector Emanuele Gamba, who comes from the theater in Livorno, described his production as a mix of classical and modern staging. However, he does not even want to emphasize the exact style, because the current time is complex, and this complexity, according to him, is also reflected in the characters of men and women. In the case of this opera work, this is also shown on stage between the protagonist Isabella and the main male characters Lindor and Mustafa.

“Comic opera, and especially such an excellent opera as Rossini’s The Italian Woman, still interests the audience because it tells us about us, about our desires, fears, and needs. Rossini and his Italian woman tell us about love, sexuality, the fear of death, aging, the horror we feel when we think of being alone. Who among us has not thought about this? And how funny, comical, pathetic we are when we try to answer these questions and make the most stupid and useless decisions!” said the director.

An opera full of “joy, love, humor and rhythmicity“In alternation with Elena Dobravec will sing and act the role of Isabella in a total of eight productions, which will be on the program until February 25 Nushka Drašček. She performed in this role four years ago in Belgium, but in a different setting, so she had to rehearse the Ljubljana performance. According to her, Algiers in Algiers offers many beautiful moments on stage, and there is a lot of comedy already in the music, so she is sure that she will impress the audience.

There is also a similar opinion Nebojša Babić, a member of the opera theater in Novi Sad, for whom this will be the third production of this opera work. He has already performed on the Ljubljana stage, but this time Mustafa will alternate with Peter Martinčič. The role of Lindor will be z Acom Bišćević exchanged Bryan Lopez Gonzalez from Cuba. As he said, he will now participate in the entire opera for the first time, after having already performed some of its parts, including in Germany, where he has settled. He added that as a Cuban he enjoys Rossini’s work, which “full of joy, love, humor and rhythmicity“.

Lukas Zuschlag signs the choreography, Massimo Checchetto scenography and Carlos Tieppo costume design. He shaped the light Milcho Aleksandovand she took care of the dramaturgy Tatjana Ažman.