Argentina Mozart, Così fan tutte: Buenos AiresLírica. Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Buenos AiresLírica, Conductor:Juan Casasbellas. Teatro Avenida, Buenos Aires. 15.3.2013. (JSJ)
Cast:
Fiordiligi: Oriana Favaro
Dorabella: Cecilia Pastawski
Ferrando: Iván Maier
Guglielmo: Norberto Marcos
Despina: Marisú Pavón
Don Alfonso: Omar Carrión
Production:
Director: Pablo Maritano
Sets: Andrea Mercado
Costumes: Sofía Di Nunzio
Lighting: José Luis Fiorruccio
This year Buenos AiresLírica has opened Buenos Aires’ 2013 opera season and with a new production of Così fan tutte to launch its 10th anniversary season, it also marked the company’s 50th production and the completion of its journey through the “Da Ponte trilogy.”
This was a busy production, with the young Pablo Maritano giving a modern twist to an otherwise “period” offering. With the opening scene with a miniature billiard table and a crowd of boisterous lookers on, the sense of “game” was set and this was seamlessly carried through to Don Alfonso’s manipulation of Ferrando and Guglielmo and theirs in turn of Fiordiligi and Dorabella, but without allowing the underlying humour to overshadow the conflicting emotions that the unravelling situation arouses – and for Maritano, the aspect that gives the work its modernity.
Period style sets by Andrea Mercado with side spaces supported this view, with the colourful costumes by Sofía Di Nunzio entirely appropriate.
Juan Casasbellas, who has been chorus master for Buenos AiresLírica, made his conducting debut for the company, with good rhythm and balance.
Oriana Favaro (Fiordiligi), Cecilia Pastawski (Dorabella), Iván Maier (Ferrando) and Norberto Marcos (Guglielmo) all gave fine performances, both vocally and stylistically, and Marisú Pavón (Despina) made the most of her over the top role, what with rubber gloves and other paraphernalia. And the experienced Omar Carrión (Don Alfonso) was more akin to a subtle pulling of the strings.
All in all a very promising start for Buenos AiresLírica in this anniversary year but also for local opera more generally in what is proving to be a challenging time economically.
Jonathan Spencer Jones
Buenos AiresLírica’s new production of Così fan tutte.Photo Liliana Morsia