A wacky time in old Algiers

By Catherine Reese Newton

Utah Opera had a tremendous hit in January with "Carmen," that big, juicy steak of an opera. This week, the company offers operatic cotton candy: the good-natured silliness of Rossini's "The Italian Girl in Algiers."

Saturday's opening-night audience knew it was in for frothy fun before the curtain even rose, as conductor Christopher Larkin and the Utah Symphony earned laughs with their colorful, comic rendition of the opera's overture. Robert Stephenson's oboe solos were a particular delight. Paul Shortt's candy-colored set, framed by three fanciful prosceniums that called to mind a giant sugar egg, offered another clue to the wackiness that would follow; Susan Memmott Allred's witty costume designs added to the effect. Mustafà's impossibly oversized turban earned its own ovation.

Mezzo-soprano Leah Wool, who trained at Utah Opera early in her career, is back to sing the title role of Isabella. Her luscious, creamy voice was in fine form all evening Saturday. Bass-baritone Rod Nelman plays her nemesis, Mustafà, bey of Algiers, who is determined to add her to his harem. Nelman sang the buffoonish role with panache and strong comic timing.

Tenor Brian Stucki is Isabella's long-lost love, Lindoro, who by crazy coincidence is a captive in the same palace where Isabella washes ashore. Their relationship is difficult to sell -- Rossini didn't give them a love duet -- but Stucki navigated his fiendishly high, florid music with skill.

The rest of the cast -- baritone Daniel Belcher as Isabella's would-be suitor, Taddeo; baritone Brent Reilly Turner as Mustafà's lieutenant, Haly; soprano Anna Vikre as Mustafà's love-lorn wife, Elvira; and mezzo Stina Eberhardt as Elvira's servant, Zulma -- was uniformly appealing. The men of the Utah Opera Chorus excelled in their multiple guises as pirates, eunuchs and members of the Order of Pappataci. As the harem girls, Sara K. Neal and Melissa Singleton managed to be remarkably funny without singing a note -- and with their faces veiled.

Stage director Patricia Weinmann amped up the zaniness with clever use of props: needlepoint, pillows, bread loaves, even a sash that was deployed in Chekhovian fashion.

For all its amiable daffiness, though, the laid-back vibe of Saturday's performance gave the listener just enough time to notice the thinness of the plot. A little less sugar and a dash more energy would make for a more satisfying dish.