LA Opera’s The Turk in Italy brings fun story to life

The Los Angeles Opera’s production of Rossini’s classic Il Turco in Italia, or The Turk in Italy, performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, has everything an audience can possibly hope for: love, lust, scandal, marriage and divorce.

The story, originally written by Rossini back in the 1800s, was initially disliked and seen as a jab at Italians because the main character cheats on her husband with a Turkish man.

The audience first sees Fiorilla, the opera’s primadonna, played by the vivacious soprano Nino Machaidze, in a romantic rendezvous with the aptly named Narciso (Maxim Mironov), the narcissistic character, who wears a costume reminiscent of Danny Zuko from Grease.

The opera has barely begun when fickle Fiorilla casts off poor Narciso for bigger and better men.

Narciso is too full of himself and Mironov does a great job of portraying this cocky, overconfident character.

The audience first sees Selim Damelec, the Turkish prince, he floats in on a Turkish magic carpet. Selim is portrayed by the bass-baritone Simone Alberghini, a powerful, strong-voiced singer.

With Selim’s entrance, the story turns to Fiorilla’s attempt to escape her dreary marriage and get rid of Narciso to pursue the affection of Selim.

Sparks fly between Fiorilla and Selim, whose relationship was mirrored by definite chemistry of the lovely Machaidze and handsome Alberghini.

Don Geronio (Paolo Gavanelli), is Fiorilla’s betrayed husband, the man to be pitied. A short, portly, elderly man, Gavanell’s acting manages to put the audience in a dilemma as to whether to root for the Italian or the outsider Turk.

The show is tied together by a poet named Prosdocimo who begins the story by trying to find his muse. Prosdocimo (Thomas Allen), a de facto narrator, is a meddlesome character, but one listeners cannot help but adore. Allen’s realization of Prosdocimo is wonderful, enough of an everyman that audience members can place themselves within the opera’s main plot-line.

The costume department does a good job throughout the work of bringing the characters to life. Selim makes the audience swoon with his over-the-top, pseudo-Armani suit and Ray-Ban-esque shades.

During a later masquerade scene, Selim, Narciso and Geronio don red Turkish caps and white cotton tunics, all looking quite hilarious. Zaida and Fiorilla, meanwhile, wear bright gold outfits with headpieces that look like dragonflies.

The actors share strong chemistry and create believable characters.

The opera spices things up by including a couple of convincing yet hilarious fight scenes. Geronio, donning silky green boxer shorts and boxing gloves, challenges Selim, wearing similar red shorts and his own gloves, to a fight for his revenge in one of the funniest scenes.

Both were hyped as if in a boxing ring, and it was as funny and as ridiculous as Celebrity Boxing.

Soon enough, Zaida and Fiorilla are at it like their male counterparts, nearly clawing each other’s eyes out and kicking each other’s heads in. The choreography was laugh-out-loud funny yet masterfully done, and the scene retains the fun mood throughout.

Rossini’s music, led by James Conlon and wonderfully performed by the cast  and orchestra, was exceptional. It had the flourish and lyricism needed to showcase the magnificent voices that graced the stage of the opera house.

Each singer became his character and there was great chemistry between the performers.

Machaidze stole the show with her sensational voice, her dance moves and her flirtation, winning the audience over from the very first note. Alberghini later commented that they “had a lot of fun” and the actors made it seem so, creating a fun experience for the audience as well.

“Il Turco in Italia” will have its final performances this Thursday and Sunday. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located on 135 N. Grand Ave.