SURF’S UP FOR COCKY LOVERS
Opera Mariposa’s Cosi Fan Tutte places the classic Mozart opera at a beachside resort. Shawn Conner talked to soprano Kathryn Nickford about the opera.
Q: Besides singing with Opera Mariposa, you’ve done some photography for the company. How did that come about?
A: I started doing photography when I realized that opera singers have terrible headshots. And I really wanted to make everyone look great in their headshots. I’m plus-size, and I noticed a lot of people who were plus-size didn’t have the opportunity to get really wonderful photography. And I realized I wanted to focus on performers, and capturing the local opera scene too.
Q: What does it mean to be an indie opera company?
A: It fills a specific niche. Singers are often in school for a very long time, they study very hard. There’s a period of time where they’re professional but not quite at the level of being in, say, Vancouver Opera. This is an opportunity to showcase some high-level professionals that aren’t yet in the bigger opera houses. It also gives them an opportunity to have a lot of fun with their productions because it fills that niche. And because of the price level of the tickets, it’s a great way to see opera for the first time. It’s fully staged and people get to see high-calibre artists.
Q: There’s a double cast. Is that typical?
A: For Opera Mariposa, it’s definitely a way to get more talent singing. With this production, what’s really interesting is that we have different voice types that have been paired up based on who sounds better with other people. Both casts have been selected so we all sound really good together.
Q: What makes this version of the opera different from others?
A: We’ve taken the lead role and made her a staff member at a beach resort. Some of the singers are wearing bathing suits. And we’re going to have cellphones. We have little jokes hidden in the surtitles. The surtitles are in English, but the wording is a little more modern. And Mozart was always interested in social commentary and satire. He always made the help some of the smartest characters in the opera. So it’s a commentary not just on social classes but on gender as well. People sometimes think that opera is really stuffy. We’ve made a statement but it’s also really fun. It’s refreshing and also hilarious.
Q: How would you describe the character you play, Fiordiligi?
A : She’s the oldest sister who gets to be really strong. She’s a little bit protective of her younger sister (Dorabella). She’s supposed to be the wise one. She definitely has her moments where she gets to be part of the hilarity, and also have some touching sincere moments. Her character is written in the music, too. Some of her vocal parts are extremely challenging, some of the most challenging in opera. There’s an aria that stands out; it’s all about strength, essentially.