Views And Reviews: The Italian Girl in Algiers
Paul Serotsky introduces us to Rossini’s overture to “The Italian Girl in Algiers”.
To read more of Paul’s sparkling words about some of the greatest music ever written please click on Views And Reviews in the menu on this page.
Rossini (1792-1868) – Overture “The Italian Girl in Algiers” (1813)
Listening to Rossini overtures back-to-back can be rather like watching a fashion show: the pretty clothes change, but they’re all hung on the same old dummies (sorry, “elegant models”!). Rossini’s high turnover, around 40 operas between 1806 and 1829, together with his habit of leaving the overture until last – sometimes even the last minute! – necessitated working to a formula. It was, however, a winning formula, made subtly elastic by Rossini’s endlessly inventive wit.
If “L’Italiana in Algeri” seems to you to start too quietly to do its “audience shutter-upper” job, then watch out! There are two main subjects: a dashing allegro followed by a cheeky oboe tune which blends into the obligatory “Rossini crescendo” – conventional enough, but the immediate reprise springs a surprise. This spumanti is “shaken, not stirred”, by a sly, convention-scuppering modulation which ensures maximum sparkle and fizz – and auditory attentiveness – right to the very last drop.
© Paul Serotsky
