Opera Australia serve up Turkish with heaps of ham
WITH a stage full of gyrating Elvis lookalikes Opera Australia’s take on Rossini’s The Turk in Italy is a chance for a talented cast to ham it up.
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A STAGE full of gyrating Elvis lookalikes, a brief appearance by Spider-Man, a reworked libretto punctuated with snatches of Aussie slang, lashings of humour ̶ much of it rather salty ̶ and a cast revelling in an over-the-top, feel-good production.
God knows what Rossini would have thought of this version of The Turk in Italy. The original was first performed 204 years ago in Milan when Rossini was just 22. Andy Morton’s inspired recreation, directed by Simon Phillips, retains the essential silliness of the plot while updating some of the opera’s more farcical aspects.
Mostly, though, this was a chance for a talented cast to ham it up with gusto and in the process deliver a highly enjoyable evening.
The music may not be Rossini’s most memorable but it is lively and sung with feeling, particularly towards the end when Fiorilla (Stacey Alleaume in sparkling form) sings Non si dà follia maggiore (There can be no greater folly of loving one object), an aria of uncommon difficulty, with stratospheric highs undulating between sweet middles and touching lows.
BRAGGADOCIO
Her rich soprano was well up to the task.
Likewise, Paolo Bordogna provided a satisfyingly warm baritone and an impressive Italian braggadocio to the role of Selim, the visiting Turk who is torn between two women, his former lover Zaida (Anna Dowsley) and Fiorilla, bored wife of bar owner Don Geronio (Warwick Fyfe in doddery splendour).
Samuel Dundas played Prosdocimo, poet-turned-barman and commentator on the proceedings, with a fine baritone and a nicely judged sense of comedy.
Australian-Italian tenor Virgilio Marino, as Narciso, Fiorilla’s frustrated admirer, and tenor Graeme Macfarlane, as Albazar, Zaida’s gypsy confidant, were excellent in support.
Gabriela Tylesova’s brightly-coloured set, with its two-storey revolving bar, worked well and conductor Andrew Molino’s obvious sympathy for Rossini’s score served the production with distinction.
Lighting designer Nick Schlieper also deserves credit for effects both striking and subtle.
DETAILS
● OPERA: The Turk in Italy
● STARS: Stacey Alleaume, Paolo Bordogna, Warwick Fyfe, Virgilio Marino
● AT: Sydney Opera House
● BOOKINGS: 9250 7777, www.sydneyoperahouse.com
● UNTIL: September 1