Rossini: L’Italiana in Algeri – with Cecilia Bartoli

An all-star cast in one of Rossini’s most anarchic and madcap comedies: L’Italiana in Algeri. Cecilia Bartoli is centre stage as Isabella, while the 2018 Salzburg Whitsun Festival production sees directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier relocate the opera’s comic confusions and clashes of temperament to a contemporary Algiers. Ildar Abdrazakov is a swaggering Mustafà, repeatedly outmanoeuvred by Bartoli’s quick-witted heroine, while Edgardo Rocha’s lyrical Lindoro and Alessandro Corbelli’s hapless Taddeo complete the cast. In the pit, Jean-Christophe Spinosi and Ensemble Matheus bring sparkle, momentum and theatrical flair to a score overflowing with wit and irresistible invention. A rare Rossinian treat!