At Madrid’s Teatro Real, director Laurent Pelly and conductor Giacomo Sagripanti take on Gioachino Rossini’s The Turk in Italy. A delightful opéra-bouffe, packed with colorful characters!

Composed by Gioacchino Rossini in 1814, The Turk in Italy is today one of the Italian composer’s most performed works. Forgotten, then revived by Maria Callas, this opera narrates the misadventures of Selim, a Turkish prince eager to discover new carnal joys in Italy. Near Naples, he meets the coquettish and flighty Fiorilla, with whom he falls in love. The ensuing fights and effusions are witnessed, commented on and instigated by Prosdocimo, a poet in need of inspiration for his new comedy.

For this new production of The Turk in Italy, Madrid’s prestigious Teatro Real has called on Alex Esposito (Selim), Lisette Oropesa (Fiorilla), Misha Kiria (Don Geronio), Edgardo Rocha (Don Narciso), Florian Sempey (Prosdocimo Poet), Paola Gardina (Zaida) and Pablo García-López (Albazar). Conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti and Andrés Máspero respectively, the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus respond to this vocal line-up in a staging by Laurent Pelly.