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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2011 > January > 31 > Entry
Review: Austin Lyric Opera’s “The Italian Girl in Algiers”
Rossini’s comic opera, “The Italian Girl in Algiers,” was a breezy start to the new year for the Austin Lyric Opera Saturday night at the Long Center.
The funny, lighthearted work is energized by strong leads, clever staging and a nimble score.
The orchestra, under the vibrant direction of Richard Buckley, sets the mood with a brisk, melodic opening. Then, the trouble: a biplane streaks across the stage.
Applause erupts as the set “opens,” revealing a Moorish palace court, with patterned floor and archways.
Elvira (Cara Johnston) enters, complaining that her husband, Mustafa, has fallen out of love.
Mustafa, the “bey,” (a governor, of sorts), makes it known that he’s had his fill with his wife. He’s over her preening and her extravagant demands on his time. That, and he hears stories about the women of Italy.
So, Mustafa declares his plan: He’ll ship Elvira off to Italy with his Italian slave, Lindoro (Javier Abreu), and he’ll send his men to fetch him a Lamborghini upgrade.
As luck would have it, the very woman arrives, having crashed her (stylish) plane in desert, with her new man, Taddeo (Peter Strummer).
But Isabella (Sandra Piques Eddy) is more horsepower than Mustafa expected, and she plots an escape with her fiance, Lindoro.
The leads are brilliant. Pecchioli’s Mustafa dances and moves like Michael Jackson in “Thriller.” His face is elastic, and from pompous to effeminate, he’s hilarious.
Eddy embodies Isabella perfectly, as a cross between Amelia Earhart and Sophia Loren.
The voices of both were resonant and fluid, transmitting a bouquet of emotions, from comedy to despair.
Abreu is fun to watch as the straight man, Lindoro, but his voice seemed a little thin as it crept to the lower register.
All secondary parts were outstanding, most notably Strummer as “uncle” Taddeo, a classic comedy “big man.” Strummer’s perfect timing was matched by an ample voice, which made his little shrieks and movements even funnier.
The score is just as much fun, even when the orchestra outpaced the singers in some brisk verbal passages.
The orchestra’s dynamics were especially tight, and a horn solo early in the first half was especially sonorous and beautiful. The whole work felt fresh.
“The Italian Girl in Algiers” continues 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2 and Feb. 4, 3 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Long Center. www.austinlyricopera.org
Luke Quinton is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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