Time 19:30
Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu) Trg Republike Hrvatske 15, Zagreb
The event is part of the Fourth International Zagreb Opera Festival
L’Italiana in Algeri (‘The Italian Girl in Algiers’) is one of the works of Rossini that sealed the young composer’s high position and opened the doors to international fame. The two-act dramma giocoso, first staged in Venice in May of 1813, met with such great applause from the audience that soon the title appeared on the posters of theaters not only in Italy but also throughout Europe.
With taste, but also with panache, the composer parodies what is characteristic of the opera seria genre. Extensive arias with the choir, sophisticated coloraturas, grotesque dialogues, ironic sighs – all these means are harnessed in the service of entertainment. The extraordinary intelligence of the title Italian girl contrasts with the debauchery of Bey Mustafa, bored with his wife and submissive harem. The other characters also have spirit, which is appropriately reflected in the variety of musical means. Let us not forget the added orientalism, so fashionable in the 19th century, and the fact that this thrilling tale is based on a true story. Therefore, it is not surprising that Piotr Kamiński sees in this work “[…] the specificity and… modernity of Rossini’s comedy, where madness is musical, unreal – weightless”.
MUSIC DIRECTOR DAWID RUNTZ
STAGE DIRECTOR JITKA STOKALSKA
SET DESIGN AND COSTUMES MARLENA SKONECZKO
CHOREOGRAPHY ALISA MAKARENKO
LIGHTING DESIGN KAROLINA GĘBSKA
VIDEO PROJECTIONS MAREK ZAMOJSKI
CHORUS MASTER KAROL KNAPIŃSKI
II CONDUCTOR KAROL SZWECH
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR DANIEL MIECZKOWSKI
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK, AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
STAGE MANAGER WANDA KARPIŃSKA
CAST
MUSTAFA PAWEŁ MICHALCZUK
ELVIRA TATIANA HEMPEL-GIERLACH
LINDORO SEBASTIAN MACH
ISABELLA ZUZANNA NALEWAJEK
ZULMA DOROTA LACHOWICZ
HALY SAMUEL FERREIRA
TADDEO WITOLD ŻOŁĄDKIEWICZ
MIMES MAJA ALEKSANDRA BILEK, ALEKSANDRA BOŻEK, JERZY KLONOWSKI, MACIEJ JAN KRAŚNIEWSKI, ALISA MAKARENKO, BARTŁOMIEJ MARSZAŁEK, MARTA PIECZUL, KLARA TWARDOWSKA
THE CHORUS OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
PIANOFORTE DAGMARA DUDZIŃSKA
CONDUCTOR DAWID RUNTZ
Duration: approx. 2h 20 mins (with an intermission)
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland under the Inspiring Culture 2025–2026 programme.
Sufinancira Ministarstvo kulture i nacionalne baštine Republike Poljske u okviru programa „Inspiring Culture 2025-2026“.
Project title: Presentation of L’Italiana in Algeri by Gioacchino Rossini and the chamber concert Opera Buffa, performed by the Polish Royal Opera at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, within the framework of the Inspiring Culture 2025–2026 programme. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu) and with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Zagreb.
