CULTURE

Rossini opera goes on stage

The National Opera will stage Rossini’s «L’Italiana in Algeri» (The Italian Girl in Algiers) this week – the last production bearing the signature of former artistic director Loukas Karytinos, as conductor Myron Michailidis pointed out. The opera is directed by famous Rossini interpreter Enzo Dara. The Italian composer Rossini wrote about 34 operas, but the comic ones have turned out to be the most successful. He is considered by many to be the founder of the «Italian School» of opera and was followed by numerous Italian composers. According to Dara, the «Italian Girl in Algiers» is the craziest of all his operas. The comic work was first staged at Venice’s San Benedetto Theater in 1813 and met with unexpected success. Even Rossini was surprised and commented that although he had feared the audience would want to send him to a mental institution upon hearing the opera, they seemed to get crazier than him. Opera plot The opera tells the story of the Italian girl Isabella, who ends up on the shores of Algiers after a shipwreck while trying to find her beloved Lindoro. Isabella is rescued from the shipwreck, taken captive and led to the palace of Mustafa, the Bey of Algiers. There she meets up with Lindoro, while the Bey falls head over heels for her. Isabella takes advantage of the Bey’s love and manages to escape along with Lindoro. Dara described his director’s approach as traditional with some modern elements and added that «in the end, what matters is whether the direction is beautiful or ugly.» The production’s modern elements include the unknown objects that the pirates pick up from the shipwreck: a typewriter, a book and two Italian masks impress Mustafa and stress the different culture of the two peoples. Paris Mexis, who designed the sets and the costumes, transformed the National Opera stage. «By transferring the area even beyond the maestro we tried to give a more direct approach,» he said. The stage will be divided into two, hence facilitating the simultaneous presence of two different worlds, that of the West (Italy) and that of the East (Algiers). The 113 costumes that will be used are very impressive, but many of them – in the name of historical validity – gave interpreters a hard time. The National Opera’s male choir will take part in the performance under its new conductor Nikos Vassileiou. Irini Karayianni and Marita Paparizou will alternate as Isabella; Antonis Koroneos and Federico Lepre will play Lindoro; Christoforos Staboglis and Dimitris Kassioumis will play Mustafa; Elpiniki Zervou and Marianna Mansola will interpret Elvira, and Haris Andrianos and Akis Laloussis will play Taddeo. Performances have been scheduled for Friday to Sunday and then January 25, 27, 28 and 29. The Olympia Theater is situated at 59-61 Academias, tel 210.361.2461/364.3725.

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