So says Don Alfonso in the G. Schirmer English version of
Cosi fan Tutte I performed in the 1980s. (When I was 3.)
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| Guglielmo, Dorabella, Fiordiligi, Ferrando |
On Friday evening I was fortunate to see a student production of
Cosi fan Tutte at Southern Methodist University here in Dallas. Because I've sung Ferrando in
Cosi, and because Mozart always has a special place in my heart, I hold this opera dear. And overall I was pleased with Friday evening's performance.
Most of all I was impressed with the potential on stage. Because it was a student production, and because I only heard one of the two casts, and also because no singer bio-blurbs were provided, I won't mention the individual singers by name. But I will say this: there was not a one of them I wouldn't want to hear again with another year or two of training and polish. There were one or two whose voices I don't think fit the roles they were assigned, but I would gladly hear in them in bigger roles now and in the future. There also those those voices fit their roles perfectly. Again, I would gladly hear them all again, and I would love to be kept apprised of their vocal and professional progress.
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| Ferrando and Fiordiligi |
I've written many times before of my feelings about updated productions. The usual stated intention is to clarify relationships and social positions. In my humble opinion, it doesn't often work. If that was the intention this time, one wonders why Despina was portrayed as a custodian but the English titles and the stage actions still suggested she was really a lady's maid. (This school clearly has an arts budget--how much does a dramaturg cost?) Why set
Cosi in a modern prep school? And while the sets and costumes were well executed to portray the concept, I just can't go with the concept. I once interviewed a high-profile opera director for these pages, and she said when she works with students she wants to know they have a thorough understanding of
droit du seigneur before listening to their ideas about staging
Marriage of Figaro on a tennis court. I don't know other work of this production team, but I'm not getting a picture of that level of understanding in this case.
These are not huge objections. I have often stated I'm all about the singing. I walked away pleased and hopeful for the futures of these young artists. For readers in the Dallas area, I highly recommend catching one of the remaining performances.
