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The Italian Girl in Algiers

Published Monday 2 November 2009 at 10:00 by George Hall

The designs - by Tony Rabbit and Nic Smillie - for Colin McColl’s production of Rossini’s light-hearted culture-clash comedy take their cue from Latino soap operas of the kind Brazil is famous for, which enjoy staggeringly large TV audiences worldwide. Algiers is the title of this one, set amidst the rich and famous floating around on yachts in the Mediterranean, having affairs and emotional crises.

As modern versions of Rossini’s piece about a young Italian captive taking control of the ruler of Algiers and his harem go, it’s not a bad fit - though with piracy of the kind that inspired the piece back in 1813 so much in the news, some of its serious background gets thrown overboard. But only rarely does McColl’s staging run out of steam and the way in which the audience sees the show being filmed is brilliantly done.

Individual performances are strong, with Karen Cargill’s Isabella firing on all vocal cylinders and surfing gracefully through the coloratura. Thomas Walker relishes playing the handsome young playboy Lindoro, with Tiziano Bracci amiably bumptious as his super-rich senior competitor, Mustafa. Adrian Powter’s hyperactive portrayal of Isabella’s mature companion Taddeo and Mary O’Sullivan’s neat depiction of Mustafa’s cast-off wife Elvira fit beautifully into the picture. Conductor Wyn Davies brings vitality to the score and the show gets a joyous reception from the Glasgow audience, which bodes well for its tour of Scotland’s major venues.

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