Surf's up for cocky lovers
A modern seaside take on Mozart’s classic opera
Bringing some muchneeded sun and sand to these dark days, Opera Mariposa’s Così Fan Tutte places the classic Mozart opera at a beachside resort. There, two couples — sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and their lovers Guglielmo and Ferrando — who think they have the ideal relationships are put to the test. In addition to placing the opera in a beach setting, the Vancouver indie opera company is reimagining the 18th-century work as what it calls “a female-driven, body-positive romantic comedy,” with two different casts. We talked to Kathryn Nickford, one of two sopranos who play Fiordiligi, 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.
Q A
What does it mean to be an indie opera company?
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 highlevel 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 A
There’s a double cast. Is that typical?
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 based on who sounds better with other people.
Q A
What makes this version different from others?
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.
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.
Q A
How would you describe the character you play?
She’s the oldest sister who gets to be really strong. She’s a little bit protective of her younger sister (Dorabella). 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.