Some people can pull off a mustache, but every ‘Movember’ it’s clear that most people cannot. John Oates, Charlie Chaplin, Salvador Dali, Groucho Marx, and Magnum P.I. wore some of the most iconic mustaches of the last century. But, before them were masters of disguise Ferrando and Guglielmo of Mozart’s cosi fan tutte. The terrible though benign boyfriends of Dorabella and Fiordiligi.
This production for Cosi takes place on Coney Island during the 1950’s (leather jackets and poodle skirts). I think all my memories of Coney Island come from movies, It’s such an iconic place that I feel like I’ve been there, but don’t think I ever was..
Mozart’s overture has a zippy tempo that lends itself to a fun five minute sequence to wink to the audience that this will be a comedy. Portland performed it with an ape while the Met is using a host of carnival people including a snake handler, fire breather, and sword swallower. They all rise from a small box enacting their specialty while holding the letters of C-O-S-I -F-A-N-T-U-T-T-E. They try to spell out the name of the opera for the audience, but spell out a funny anagram instead. They keep trying and failing until they fumble through the furiously fast finish that closes with a bam bam bam and they spell out cost fan tutte.
Amanda Majesty was lilting in the lifting hot air ballon, Ben Bliss and the rest of the cast sounded great. Kelli O’Hara who Chaltin informed me has some broadway fame was wonderfully funny as Don Alfonso’s partner in deceit.
This was Chaltin’s favorite opera of the year, and she saw it twice.
So what is Cosi Fan Tutte all about? Guglielmo and Ferrando are in love with Dorabella and Fiordiligi and convinced that love is faithfully returned, at least they are until Don Alfonso plants the seed of doubt in the men that women can’t be trusted. He convinces the men to test the women’s fidelity. The two men tell the girls they are going off to war, then come back disguised as two Albanians wearing big ‘masculine’ mustaches. Don Alfonso elicits a wonderfully fun Despina to help him win the wager by talking the Albanians up to the two girls. Will the girls be faithful and prove Alfonso wrong, or fail for the Albanians and prove him right? The title doesn’t leave us with much confidence as Cosi fan tutte routinely translates as, ‘women are like that.’
Listen for:
The Aria in the hot air balloon, Ei parte/Per Pieta
Come scoglio
Notes on this production:
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Composer……………………… Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ferrando…………………………. Ben Bliss
Guglielmo……………………….. Adam Plachetka
Fiordiligi…………………………. Amanda Majeski
Dorabella…………………..…… Serena Malfi
Don Alfonso……………….….. Christopher Maltman
Despina…………………….……. Kelli O’Hara
Conductor……………………… David Robertson
The Metropolitan Opera
4/19/2018