Strong singing, inventive set boost ‘Italian Girl in Algiers’

Soprano Sara Jakubiak unleashed fine, high-gloss brightness as Elvira, Mustapha’s long-suffering wife. David Kravitz resourcefully wrung a fair bit of character out of Taddeo’s nervous perplexity while lavishing a deep, ringing baritone on his lines. David Lara and Julia Mintzer made accomplished impressions in supporting roles; a quartet of henchmen (Sean Lair, Michael Kuhn, Stephen Humeston, and Joshua Taylor) were subtly funny. Leading an 18-player, chamber-scaled pit, conductor Susan Davenny Wyner overcame some first-act coordination slips and settled into a solid performance, slightly heavy-edged, but with a sense for moments of lingering, teasing rubato.