A roguish roué you’ll love
HAD I only a few hours left to live, and could listen to an opera, this would be the one. Mozart’s play on infidelity is so full of delicately balanced ensembles that it often approaches perfection, and sometimes reaches it.
A carefully chosen cast is needed, and Covent Garden comes up with one that fulfils all the requirements.
Of four singers making their debuts, German tenor Daniel Behle stands out for his beautifully lyrical singing. His baritone compatriot Johannes Martin Kränzle is ideal as the scheming old roué Don Alfonso.
As the girls who are ‘victims’ of the politically incorrect plot, two Americans work very well together. Soprano
Così Fan Tutte (Royal Opera House) Verdict: Lovely singing, inventive production
Corinne Winters copes pretty well with a role demanding a vast range, and mezzo-soprano Angela Brower sings with glowing tone as her sister.
Italian baritone Alessio Arduini produces a slightly hollow sound on some notes but pairs up well with Behle, while Spanish soprano Sabina Puertolas is delightful as the maid Despina who aids Don Alfonso in his schemes.
The production team of Jan Philipp Gloger, Ben Baur and Karin Jud are really inventive and give us food for thought among the laughs.
The fun begins during the overture, as Kränzle and mute actors come out in dress from Mozart’s time. Kränzle keeps his attire when the action starts, but the other singers are in modern dress.
We seem to be basically in the Thirties, although the sisters have a mobile phone in the first scene. Despina goes through various disguises, and for once the two male leads — who have to seduce each other’s girlfriends — are fairly similar in height, aiding the illusion. Semyon Bychkov’s conducting is sometimes rather romantic but he secures excellent ensemble and the orchestra is superb — special mentions for the woodwinds and the first horn.
It is a very full version of the score: ironically Behle is the only singer to have an aria cut.