Opera Company Opens with Light Comedy
Published in the Post-Journal (Jamestown, NY)
July 3, 2008
By Robert W. Plyler
CHAUTAUQUA - The Chautauqua Opera Company is starting off the 2008 season with light comedy and the beautiful music of Mozart.
''Cosi Fan Tutte'' is the title. It translates something like ''They're all like that,'' and it refers to women.
The libretto, by Lorenzo da Ponte, is very light. Two young soldiers are engaged to marry a pair of beautiful Italian sisters. At the curtain, they're in a tavern and their extravagant praise for the goodness and faithfulness of their fiancees catches the attention of a cynical philosopher named Don Alfonso.
He proposes a test: the two will tell their beloveds that they must leave town and go to war. Immediately after leaving, they will return in disguise and try to seduce their own fiancees away from their avowed faithfulness. The performance runs well over three hours, and once we know which way the women will go, it begins to feel too long. But, the music is wonderful, the singing is outstanding, all six members of the cast are very good looking, and there are many worse things in the world than too much Mozart.
Emily Martin and Faith Sherman were both lovely as the women in question. Ms. Martin was Fiordiligi, the soprano of the pair. Her voice was light and very clear, and it wound itself fetchingly around all the composer's intricate twists and bends.
Ms. Martin was Dorabella, the mezzo of the pair, and her rich, beautiful tones blended especially well with her stage sister's soprano.
Jason Karn and Raymond Ayers were the questioning soldiers of the day. Karn displayed a bright, unforced tenor with which he phrased his singing very well. Ayers' baritone was strong and very well controlled, as the singing of Mozart demands.
Derrick Parker's rich, vibrant basso was a particular delight in the role of Don Alfonso. His partner in crime, the women's maid, Despina, requires fine singing, but it demands outstanding comic acting as well, and Nili Riemer was up to the challenge.
Joseph Colaneri conducted the Chautauqua Opera Orchestra tautly and for the most part they were a delight, although some unsure playing in the brass section made the soprano work doubly hard to carry off an aria in the second act.
Peter Harrison's set was a simple and very attractive collection of scrims and turning panels which set the scene perfectly, but changed in a matter of moments without delaying the action for a moment.
The costumes by Helen E. Rodgers looked fine on everyone and added a dimension of elegance to the production. I've seen so many productions of this opera in which the men's return in disguise was used as an excuse for slapstick and silliness which drowned out the wonderful music.
Artistic Director Jay Lesenger staged the production, keeping it moving and visually interesting. He provided the occasional laugh and kept the slight plot from becoming silly.
''Cosi Fan Tutte'' was reviewed in dress rehearsal, at the company's request. It will be performed tonight and Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Norton Hall, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. Note that the Thursday performance is a change from the company's usual Friday performances.