Gioacchino Rossini: L’Italiana in Algeri – Cecilia Bartoli

“The role of Isabella is sung to perfection by Cecilia Bartoli – a clever, independent woman with an adventurous streak” (New York Times). Bartoli’s superb performance in Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) at Salzburg Festival, directed by the BAFTA-winning stage director duo Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, is a highlight among the Rossini celebrations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. The DVD captures Bartoli’s excellent performance in a rare audiovisual recording of the Italian superstar, who is one of the most successful opera singers of our time. In this vibrant comedy, every look, every hand gesture brings Isabella to life: Bartoli presents the spirited Italian woman with fire, finesse and extraordinary acting abilities – “a Rossini masterclass” (Bachtrack). Her Isabella is a strong, independent woman who has no intentions of accepting the advances of the powerful Mustafà. In the staging by Leiser/Caurier, which plays with preconceived notions about clashing cultures, Mustafà is no longer an Ottoman bey, but a kind of local gangster who smuggles electronics at the port of modern-day Algiers. In the colourful sets of Christian Fenouillat, Ildar Abdrazakov sings the leering macho, looking for a love affair with the beautiful Italian, with delight and “great comic talent” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Edgardo Rocha’s bright tenor climbs up without effort, making his performance as Isabella’s lover Lindoro flowing and highly emotional. The conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi, showing sensitivity to the intricacies and sparkle of Rossini’s score, leads the excellent Ensemble Matheus in a “beguiling performance” (The New York Times).

If this was, indeed, Bartoli’s first Isabella, it was worth the wait…Nowadays she’s a consummate comedienne whose work looks especially well on film. As for her singing, one would be hard-pressed to find a better-sung Isabella…Abdrazakov is a thoroughly schooled bass who shows deftness of touch in passages of quick-fire coloratura…Olvera gives a performance in the Julie Walters class as the excruciatingly unattractive Elvira. – — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2019