The Italian girl in Algiers premiers in the Erkel Theatre

For the past few years, the Hungarian State Opera has aimed to stage operas that have never or rarely been performed in Hungary. On 18 November 2017, the Budapest audience can see Rossini’s third most frequently performed opera, L’italiana in Algeri in a production directed by Máté Szabó.

The titillating tale belongs to the ranks of „rescue operas” – a favourite genre of the era that usually stipulated having a beautiful young woman being captured and awaiting torture or death until her heroic beloved arrives on the scene to rescue her. The story is set in exotically romantic North Africa, which despite its geographic proximity to Italy, was famous chiefly for its pirates. It provided a perfect backdrop to the music, in which the composer combined farce and entertainment with virtuoso bel canto singing, to wonderful effect. The title character, Isabella, is one of the smartest and most wonderful female characters in the entire operatic literature.