Review: Così fan tutte"Cosi fan tutte in Princeton"Philadelphia Inquirer (David Patrick Stearns) Mozart's Cosi fan tutte grows more serious with age. What was once considered a featherweight romantic comedy – two men test their fiancees' fidelity by pretending to go off to war and then come back in disguise to romance each other's intended mate – was thought to be trivial in the 18th century, amoral in the 19th century, and misogynist in the late 20th century. New Jersey Opera Theater came close to delivering the best of several worlds in a handsome production that opened the company's second summer season Friday at the Berlind Theatre in the McCarter Theatre complex. Mozart's score isn't the sort to reveal previously undetected dark undercurrents: Its classical symmetry, both musical and dramaturgical, stands back and lets the story's meaning be revised by whatever society is around it, with the significant exception of the ending. Who ends up with whom is ambiguous, and how that comes out is any production's litmus test. This one, set in 18th-century Neapolitan gardens but definitely seen through 21st-century eyes, was deeper and more intelligent than perhaps even its director, Albert Sherman, realizes. His director's note in the program riffs on the opera's subtitle, "School for Lovers," but his compelling, successful ending (which I won't give away, though the men come off particularly shortsighted) turns the opera into a parable of alienation extending well beyond misogyny and into all-purpose misanthropy. If this "school" teaches anything, it's to make sure the dowry is refundable and not transferable to another fiance. Along the way, the production was loaded with precisely chosen comic details: The women use portraits of their old suitors to ward off the new ones as if brandishing a cross at a vampire. Sitcom-style silliness seems to be banned, with all characters examined beyond the "types" they represent. Much thought was given to recitatives, which were sung for all their dramatic worth… …most singers sounded promising and looked terrific. The women were particularly good vocally; Elisabeth Russ (the maid Despina) and especially Fenna Ograjensek (Dorabella) had a wonderful way of projecting their characters' most unguarded moments, which allowed Mozart to transcend the stage and enter your consciousness. As Fiordiligi, Emily Newton accomplished that in her eloquent phrasing more than in her manner. The men had their share of vocal quirks, though casting against type had its payoffs: Cynical Don Alfonso was sung by Matthew Curran with the voice of a poet, making the character's nastiness intriguingly covert. That points to one element that makes the production worth the drive: The fact that such things were perceivable is part of the pleasure of opera in a 350-seat hall, where it's possible to enjoy irony in full. No small matter: I can remember an all-star Cosi at the Metropolitan Opera with the main-floor audience laughing much while balcony folks couldn't tell what was going on. |
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