[ In Spanish here ]
Encapsulated in a POD, we bring you a delirious comedy with a clash of cultures and a lot of prejudices and stereotypes still pending revision today. In this opera, Rossini, the funniest composer, shines with his intelligent humor, easy and suitable for all audiences. With this story, we hope to open conversations in family or among friends...*
TODAY Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri remains a classic at major opera houses and festivals around the world, with regular productions in Europe and North America. Rossini's humor and brilliant music guarantee a place among the most popular operas in the international operatic repertoire in the 21st century. On the other hand, the new stagings of the major companies address the issue of the clash of cultures and the treatment of women from perspectives that have more to do with political messages and modern labels such as “interculturalism” and “feminism”. In Mirlo Studio we think that humor is an excellent way to criticize and launch messages that awaken the audience and make them think beyond laughter. Was that also what Rossini was aiming for with the entertaining entanglements of the hilarious Italiana...? 🤔
The premiere of the Italian in Algiers in Venice in 1813 was a tremendous success, of which the writer Stendhal and Rossini himself commented, who feared that he would be taken for a madman and found that “the Venetians are crazier than I am”. This comedy begins with the arrival of the Italian Isabella in Algiers on a pirate ship that took her prisoner when she was sailing in search of her boyfriend Lindoro, and now she finds herself in front of the powerful Bey Mustafa... The music is as fast-paced and energetic as it is elegant and funny: in this intro you can listen to a fragment of his famous overture.
With Georgina Mauriño we have published the full story here.
From Mirlo Studio we only hope to provoke the debate of ideas, in family, and among friends of all ages.
Is the objectification of women a cultural trait? In this story, two models of women are contrasted: the Bey's wife, Elvira, is presented as a victim, an unbearable mourner in the eyes of the Bey, naturally vulnerable because of her condition as a woman in the eyes of the Muslims, and lacking in resources in the eyes of the other woman, the Italian, who gives her a lesson in... The Italian Isabella, for her part, is as attractive on the outside to the men as she is self-confident and admirable to the women: she is a true leader with great improvisational skills and a brilliant strategy for planning her escape. So where does her power lie?...In the study, Manuel points out to me that in this comedy men also appear as stereotyped, strident, and often ridiculous characters, and this brings us to the second question.
An opera of geopolitics, egos and disguises? Although today it seems to us that Algiers is next to Europe and we have much more information, exchange and cultural proximity, many cultural differences persist, which come from afar, and sometimes pose conflicts. In this story, based on their beliefs and cultural prejudices, the characters, both the Bey Mustafa and the Italian leader Isabella, will introduce themselves and plan their respective strategies. To control the uncomfortable Italian who accompanies Isabella, Mustafa names him Kaimakan, protector of the Muslim, a position with no more value than the pompous clothes, the silk turban... Exactly the same thing the beautiful Isabella does with Mustafa, naming him her Papatacci, come-and-shut up, with the promise to give him affection between sleep, food and drink... Both use flattery to deceive and manipulate the other. Thus, we will see Mustafa in his palace go from a “tamer of women” to a “tamed Papatacci”, eating spaghetti...
Beware of flattery! It is an infallible means of manipulation for big egos. Do today's politicians know it or should they take a look at this opera as a reminder?
Censurable humor? The story of The Italian Girl in Algiers is full of entanglements, following in the footsteps of Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, but with all the humor of Italian comedies, comic operas. Rossini claimed to have composed it as an entertainment, and its immediate success as well as the comments it raised at the time did not raise any controversy. It is a white and intelligent humor. You can make a point out of anything, and even more so in a 19th century opera if we put it under the magnifying glass of “political correctness”.
Following this conversation in the studio, Georgina tells us that years ago on a radio station she was asked in an accusatory tone, “Why do children have to be told these operas with racist stories? The announcer-interviewer was referring to Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, and she has not forgotten it because it was her first interview at the launch of the Cuéntame una Ópera collection.
Today, at Mirlo Studio we present the works of the past to new generations as the authors themselves left them, in their context, and without censorship of any kind.
Listen to the full story of The Italian Girl in Algiers in this link
*NOTE: We have edited this Pod with the help of ElevenLabs, including voices of several narrators and for several characters. We are in the midst of exploring the tool. For the music once again we have resorted to an old public domain recording that can be found in European Archives, and that has allowed us to bring the voice of our beloved Teresa Berganza, who in her day excelled in the character of La italiana. We are trying it out, so any feedback in comments or by email would be appreciated...
We are testing new tools, like so many independent artists today. With the help of the SmartistsLAB, we are moving towards the Internet of Value.
Mirlo
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