BY ELEANOR WOOD
Cosi fan Tutte
Opera Australia
Sydney Opera House, 25 July
Sir David McVicar returns to complete his Mozart trilogy for Opera Australia with Cosi fan Tutte, a poignant comedy of sexual politics, fidelity and trust. Mozart and Da Ponte’s final collaboration is often billed as a comic opera or opera buffa, but beneath the farce is a deeply unsettling story of manipulation and cruelty.
In this opera, elderly philosopher Don Alfonso warns us ‘all women are like that’ and persuades young officers Ferrando and Guglielmo to test the fidelity of their fiancées, sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi. The men pretend to enlist in the war and then disguise themselves as Albanian suitors to seduce the girls. Don Alfonso enlists the helps of the wily girls’ maid Despina, who encourages the girls to treat love lightly and enjoy as many lovers as possible.
The action takes place at the dawn of the 20th Century with a grand, nostalgic glow created by lighting designer David Finn and set designer Moritz Junge, hinting at the end of innocence for the four lovers.
While Cosi is often played as a farce, McVicar’s production is much more ambivalent and, ultimately, profoundly sad. Cosi sometimes faces criticism for being misogynistic and reflecting deeply entrenched sexist attitudes towards women. Yet, at least for McVicar, it is both the men and women who suffer at the hands of Don Alfonso’s wager. Both the young men and women face questions about what it means to be loyal, to trust a person: we’re all like that. Don Alfonso is the only ‘winner’ in this opera, but he is so downtrodden, so scorned by love I find myself wondering what happened to him to make him so embittered. This is what makes McVicar’s readings of Mozart so compelling: he never plays for laughs.
McVicar is renowned for drawing nuanced, detailed dramatic performances from his cast and he certainly does this with his ensemble cast. Nicole Car and Anna Dowsley both give excellent performances as the sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi, and share all the intimacy, warmth and squabbles of sisterhood. Car’s crystal-cut soprano is well matched by Dowsley’s darker, rounder sound and the voices blend and balance perfectly.
Taryn Fiebig as the cunning, slightly deranged Despina is in glorious voice and gives a richly detailed comic performance as the maid/notary/quack doctor. She turns from confidante to master-manipulator in a matter of moments, with a rolled eye or sideways glance.
American singer David Portillo makes a tender and sympathetic Ferrando, with a warm lyric tone and beautiful legato line. Andrew Jones is equally impressive as Guglielmo, the master seducer. Jones brings charisma and a commanding physical presence to the role, making it easy to see why both sisters would fall in love with him. Richard Anderson is a subdued and brooding Don Alfonso, watching silently from the sidelines as he wreaks havoc on the lives of four young people.
With conductor Jonathon Darlington at the helm of the Australian Opera Ballet Orchestra and a masterful performance on the pianoforte by Anthony Legge, Mozart’s glorious score is in expert hands. McVicar delivers yet another inspired, intelligent production for Opera Australia.
Opera Australia’s Così fan Tutte plays at the Sydney Opera House until August 13.
Image credit: Prudence Upton.
