Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s delightful new production of COSÌ FAN TUTTE almost unlocks Mozart’s problematic opera

• By drediman
• March 21, 2018
• No Comments

Serena Malfi, Kelli O’Hara, and Amanda Majeski in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” at The Metropolitan Opera.

Like Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte is a fiendishly opera difficult to get right. That’s because, on paper, its depiction of women is terribly dated, even mean-spirited. In the opera, two good women are cruelly tricked into believing their lovers have gone off to war and are subsequently incessantly tested to cheat on them, until they eventually succumb. The problematic, Neil LaBute-like libretto is by frequent Mozart collaborator Lorenzo Da Ponte; together, they wrote not only the great Don Giovanni, but also the practically perfect Le Nozze di Figaro.

But the older I get and the more times I experience this opera – last night’s performance at The Metropolitan Opera was my fourth different production of it I’ve seen (my first was a 2002 production helmed by a young Diane Paulus for Chicago Opera Theater) – the more I think I kind of get it, or at least am able to bend it to fit my current worldview. Indeed, the world isn’t fair and is nonsensical in many, many ways; this topsy-turvy thing we call human existence is delightfully depicted in Phelim McDermott’s utterly delightful new staging for The Met, a co-production with the English National Opera.

Mr. McDermott sets the action sometime during the 1950s in an amusement park inspired by Coney Island. Suffice to say, in this world, trickery and illusion pervade – but also good fun. The production seems to suggest that life is like an amusement park ride; we should embrace its thrills, even the grotesque, dangerous ones (side show-type characters are a significant presence in this version), as they come. Although Mr. McDermott has coaxed some rather fine dramatic and comedic performances from his cast, I just wish it all had delved a little bit deeper into the complicated, potentially captivating psychology of the work. In the opera’s contradictions lies my fascination with it.

Despite its reputation as being a problematic opera, it’s ironic that Così fan tutte contains some of the most beautiful music Mozart ever wrote for opera; it’s a musically exquisite, mature creation that gets richer with each listen. Last night, it was played and sung gorgeously. As the Mephistophelian pair of Don Alfonso and Despina, English baritone Christopher Maltman and lovely soprano and Broadway darling Kelli O’Hara were ideal; both brought dramatic and musical gravitas to the performance. As the two couples, Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss, and Adam Plachetka all gave nuanced, affecting, and beautifully sung portrayals of their youthful, impressionable characters. Under the lively, forward-moving conducting of David Robertson, the Met Orchestra sounded excellent, as usual.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

COSÌ FAN TUTTE
Opera
The Metropolitan Opera
3 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through April 19