Il Turco in Italia

In this short video you can hear from baritone Rodion Pogossov (Don Geronio) who discusses reviving his role from Festival 2021:

A brief introduction:

A poet with writer’s block; an elderly cuckold and his flirtatious young wife; a charismatic Turk and his former lover: these are the ingredients of one of Rossini’s great early comedies, a playful satire on opera itself.

In a reversal of the traditional theme of a Western woman in a foreign land, Turco plays with the possibilities of a Turk arriving in Neapolitan society, creating a fresh take on the culture-clash comedy.

Driving the drama forwards is an exhilarating score that propels us from conflict to misunderstanding to climax in a giddy series of ensembles. ‘I cannot imagine imbuing song with a greater lightness, joy and grace…’ Stendhal wrote of Turco, while Heine praised Rossini’s ‘scintillating butterfly dreams’. It’s hard to disagree.

Why not to miss it:

Il Turco in Italia, Festival 2021. Photo: Bill Cooper

Mariame Clément’s production premiered in 2021 to a chorus of five-star reviews, praising the show as ‘brilliantly innovative’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘remarkable’. Updating the action to the 1950s, Clément brings out the sophistication in Rossini’s opera-about-opera, playing clever meta-theatrical games, but never forgetting the colour, silliness and slapstick that gives Turco its charm.

It might not have the name-recognition of Il barbiere di Siviglia or La Cenerentola, but Rossini’s early hit shares all their warmth and sly wit, as well as their vocal fireworks.

A great moment to look out for:

Act II Quintet ‘Oh! Guardate quell accidente’ is the surreal climax of Rossini’s romantic tangle. Selim, Fiorilla, Geronio, Narciso and Zaide are all at the masked ball. Geronio attempts to find his wife, but is faced with two Selims and two Fiorillas. ‘I can’t recognise my wife’ he at the start of the music, while the remaining four lovers scheme and contrive around him. If this is a party it’s one thrown by Harold Pinter – chilling and disorienting as much as it is entertaining.

The quintet reaches its climax in the fragmented chaos of ‘Egli e un pazzo’ as all five characters come together in a game of musical hide-and-seek that leaves Geronio doubting his sanity.

Cast and creative team:

Mariame Clément’s stylish staging returns to the Festival with an exciting new cast, led by Glyndebourne regular Rodion Pogossov as long-suffering husband Don Geronio, with rising-star Cuban-American soprano Elena Villalon as his wife Fiorilla.

There are further debuts from Azerbaijani mezzo Aytaj Shikhalizada as Zaida and award- winning Italian bass-baritone Matteo Mancini as poet Prosdocimo.

Veteran Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kalman is Selim, and American tenor David Portillo returns as Narciso.

Rodion Pogossov in Il Turco in Italia, Festival 2021. Photo: Bill Cooper

To find out more about production support for Festival 2026 click here
or contact our Director of Development, Helen McCarthy for an informal chat:
call 01273 013 308 or email helen.mccarthy@glyndebourne.com