Il turco in Italia

Gioachino Rossini

Performances

Dramma buffo in two acts
Libretto: Felice Romani
World premiere: 14 August, 1814, Milan
Premiere of the production: 22 July 2014
Coproduced with: Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Teatro Regio di Torino, Opéra de Dijon
On the original Italian with Polish surtitles 

The 30-year-old Gioachino Rossini wrote four-five operas a year, but before composing Il Turco in Italia he took a deep breath for a few months. The slightly older librettist Felice Romani, who would soon become the libretto writer of the greatest Romantic operas, was also at the start of his road. Together they created operatic theatre of the absurd. It is set on a beach and at a tavern, it’s unclear who is who; an Italian man dresses up as a Turk, a Turkish woman dresses up as an Italian, and between them wanders the Poet jotting down ideas for a new opera buffa. The Poet doesn’t sing but speaks – truly an innovative move – as Rossini’s vocal cascades gush from the others’ throats. At the same time, it is easy to relate the plot to life nowadays. The actions of the Poet are similar to how reporters, documentarians, scriptwriters act: observing people and writing texts, making films and TV series based on their behaviour. Meanwhile, the ladies and gents: Fiorilla and Zaida, Geronio, Selim and Narciso, simply want to have fun, on the beach and at the bar. Don’t we know people just like them?

  • Time is measured by

Cast

2017-03-17 | 19:00

Credits

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Sponsors

  • Mecenas Teatru Wielkiego - Opery Narodowej

  • Partnerzy Teatru Wielkiego - Opery Narodowej

  • Partner premiery

  • Patroni medialni premiery

  • Patroni medialni Teatru Wielkiego - Opery Narodowej

  • Patron of Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

  • Partners of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera

  • Partner of the premiere

  • Media patrons of the premiere

  • Media patrons of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera