Review: Sir David McVicar' COSI FAN TUTTE Draws Out The Darkness Beneath Mozart's Beautiful Music

Tuesday 19th July 2016, 7pm, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Sir David McVicar returns to direct Mozart's COSI FAN TUTTE to round out Opera Australia's staging of the da Ponte Cycle. His beautiful vision is paired with the wonderful voices of five of Australia's and one of America's finest singers and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra to expose the disturbing attitudes that unfortunately still prevail.

McVicar brings the 18th Century music and Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte together with an early 20th Century, pre War setting to highlight that the commentary on society that remains disturbingly relevant. Designer Moritz Junge transports the audience to a Gentleman's club in Naples and a stately villa with a multi layered set that allows glimpses of back billiard rooms and the blue sea.

The premise of the work is that soldiers Guglielmo (Andrew Jones) and Ferrando (David Portillo), betrothed to Fiordiligi (Nicole Car) and Dorabella (Anna Dowsley), are talked into proving their fiancées fidelity by the misogynistic old philosopher Don Alfonso (Richard Anderson). As part of the bet, Don Alfonso tells the sisters that their loved ones have been called up to fight and must leave. He brings Despina (Taryn Fiebig), the sister's older maid, into the ruse as they introduce the girls, tormented at being left alone, to two "Albanians", Ferrando and Guglielmo in disguise. The girls, originally steadfastly faithful are convinced by the worldly Despina that their men would be off having dalliances with little regard for them and that a little harmless flirting would do them no harm. Whilst Fiordiligi enjoys an evening stroll with Ferrando, Guglielmo, not particularly enamoured with Dorabella, convinces her to give him a token of her love despite her reluctance and thus compromises her. As Don Alfonso's wager is not complete till he has proof that the girls have strayed, a rushed wedding is planned, with Despina donning another disguise as the Notary to have wedding contracts signed. Whilst the deception is laughed off and accepted, it highlights a nasty undertone whereby the men have played with the girls affections and manipulated them for their own amusement.

Car, as the older sister Fiordiligi, has a wonderful clear ringing soprano which conveys her love for Guglielmo in Ah Guarda Sorella whilst Dowsley gives younger sister Dorabella a deeper energy to her declaration of love in the duet. Whilst Car's Fiordiligi is more reserved and mature, Dowsley's Dorabella is more demonstrative in her passion with a high degree of melodrama infused into her response at learning her betrothed must away to war.

Fiebig, as Despina, is fabulously cheeky with a beautifully textured vocal as she seeks to convince the girls that they should enjoy life and look out for their own pleasure rather than being submissive and waiting for their men to return home. There is a sassiness as the older, more experienced woman's explanations drip with innuendo and blatant expression in her physical Expression.

The three women and Don Alphonso are much more distinctive than the two suitors which aren't visually distinctive as soldiers making the subterfuge more confusing, relying on the synopsis and the text to determine who is who. The young women, whilst naturally visually distinctive have also been costumed distinctively with Fiordiligi dressed in more mature day dress with hair pinned up whilst her younger sister Dorabella still bears her hair long, a common distinction between girls and women in Edwardian times. When the girls are finally convinced to entertain the idea of greeting the visitors with flirtation, there dresses remain distinctive unlike the "Albanian" who are really only differentiated by their wigs.

McVicar draws out misogynistic undertones more than other productions, highlighting that whilst both young men were horrified at Don Alfonso's assertions at the start, Guglielmo eventually becomes just as bad, forcing Dorabella into betraying her vows even though is isn't particularly taken with her. Whilst Despina could be considered modern in her thoughts and behaviours, claiming to have two lovers on the go, her ability to be drawn into Don Alfonso's plot is exposed as having questionable morals given the knowledge that a woman's virtue was viewed much differently then.

MCVicar's COSI FAN TUTTE, whilst a beautiful expression of Mozart's work and a period production, is foremost an expression of the ills of society that would toy with emotions for a bet and see men thinking that they can forcibly take what the want. There are still elements of comedy but this production is more weighted to the gravity of the issues rather than trying to laugh them off as silly things women do and generalisations that "all women are the same". This is an interesting work that will provoke more though and analysis than other interpretations have generally had cause to.

COSI FAN TUTTE
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

photos: Prudence Upton