English National Opera

19th June 2009

I love Mozart’s operas, but Cosi fan tutte has a disappointing habit of boring me to death. It’s difficult to know why – those who have claimed it’s musically the most sophisticated of the three Da Ponte operas certainly have a point. The ensembles might not quite reach the comedic heights of Acts 2 and 4 of Le nozze di Figaro, but they’re not far off, and Fiordiligi’s arias, arguably, beat Susanna’s in everything but simplicity. Each character is vividly drawn, with the different personalities of the four lovers at least suggested from first-act arias. And then there’s an open ending to the story, not obviously a happy or a sad one, though either can be suggested by the production. One excitement of this opera is that you don’t always know how it’s going to end.

So what makes this opera boring? It’s difficult to say. Whatever this opera claims to ‘prove’ about women, the truth is that it takes a particularly strong performance to make Fiordiligi and Dorabella seem attractive as characters. And Ferrando too – I’ve always had trouble with the claims that Fiordiligi and Ferrando are ‘really’ in love. At least Guglielmo’s seduction of Dorabella is no more than a bit of teasing fun that, unfortunately for Guglielmo’s best friend, has a result. When Ferrando sneaks up on Fiordiligi, it’s difficult to believe he has anything other than revenge in mind; a desire to hurt his best friend. His ‘Tradito, schernito’ aria seems to make this clear. Yes, his duet with Fiordiligi is very passionate, but his passion seems (to me) to come more from anger, jealousy and hurt than any real love for Fiordiligi – although, as an apparently faithful woman, it’s easy to see why she might be more Ferrando’s type than Dorabella at this moment.

Do I want to watch six not particularly nice people playing jokes on one another? Not especially no. So the singers have a very difficult task. The four lovers (if not all the characters) need to make me like them. And whilst in this production only two cast members really produced a great performance both musically and dramatically, five out of the six cast members displayed likeable characteristics.

Susan Gritton sang the role of Fiordiligi and was vocally stunning (give or take the odd bottom A, but that isn’t really a soprano note anyway). Every line was beautifully phrased, both arias sung with aplomb but also with deep feeling, and, despite the fact Fiordiligi is undeniably fickle and not the most intelligent creature on the planet, Gritton managed to give an impression of great sincerity that was rather surprising but very likeable. I cared about this Fiordiligi; I believed in her mental anguish (no matter how ridiculous), and I wanted the story to end happily for her.

Fiona Murphy didn’t give such a strong impression as Dorabella, but that seemed to be part of her interpretation. Her Dorabella seemed very shallow, inclined to follow her sister rather than think up ideas for herself. When Fiordiligi proves indecisive, Dorabella attaches herself to Despina instead. When she’s alone with the disguised Guglielmo, it doesn’t take the most remarkable powers of persuasion to bring her around to his way of thinking. It might have been possible to express this side of Dorabella’s character in a more dynamic way, but it’s probably difficult for any Dorabella to measure up to a Fiordiligi of Susan Gritton’s experience. Vocally, Murphy could perhaps have done more, but it doesn’t help that only Dorabella’s amusing – and comparatively short - first aria even comes vaguely close to Fiordiligi’s two showpieces.

All three men in the opera seemed out of sorts at the beginning, but they all settled somewhat towards the end of the second half. At any rate, they learned to keep in time with the orchestra. As Ferrando, Thomas Glenn displayed a very sweet tenor, but he struggled to act during his arias. Liam Bonner’s baritone was on the heavy side for Guglielmo, but he is a real stage animal, leaping about the stage in a way that added to the drama rather than detracting from it. Steven Page as Don Alfonso was the only character I really disliked – he was a long way from the comparatively cuddly versions offered by Thomas Allen or Andrew Shore – but it didn’t matter that he seemed a bit of a nasty bully, preying on the weak-minded. He wasn’t in great voice but the role wasn’t written for a great singer.

Sophie Bevan sang the role of Despina. Her graduation from the Royal College of Music wasn’t all that long ago, but I’ve heard her singing Monteverdi, Musorgsky and now Mozart for the ENO (plus composers varying from Handel to James MacMillan in concert) and there seems to be nothing she can’t do. Comedy is also a part of her repertoire. Her comic timing is excellent. She sang beautifully throughout the first act, even when she was the magnetic doctor. A slightly heavier singing voice with a more prominent vibrato was her only vocal disguise here, and it was all that was needed. You don’t need to sing badly in order to be funny. I also loved what she did with her voice when she accidentally turned the magnet on herself. It was very funny – but it also sounded really nice.

Bevan did put on a stupid voice when she was the notary and immediately became a lot less funny. The fact that such a lovely voice is also capable of producing such ugliness is, in some ways, impressive, but I don’t find it funny at all. If it was only for a few lines, it wouldn’t have mattered so much, but she has a very long section to sing. It sounded horrible, and it can’t be good for her voice. There is so much variation in the operatic voice, and Bevan seems particularly versatile.

Abbas Kiarostami’s production (a co-production with the Grand Theatre de Luxembourg and the Festival d’Art Lyrique, Aix-en-Provence) perhaps holds the distinction of being the first opera ever directed by e-mail (didn’t he have a webcam?) after the film director was denied a visa. There was a bit too much rushing about all over the stage at the least provocation, but I really liked the film element. The sea view with the boat drifting from view looked lovely. It suited the opera well – and a lot of the opera is about illusion. We have the literal illusion created by the disguises, and of course there are Ferrando’s and Guglielmo’s illusions about their girlfriends.

As for the filmed orchestra onstage during the second act finale, it looked like a real, live orchestra from my seat. If there were any other films, I didn’t notice them, so I didn’t find them intrusive and distracting.

The sets (designed by the operatic-sounding Malika Chauveau) were perfectly adequate (I liked seeing the sisters painting their lovers’ portraits rather than sighing over them which is usually the case) and apparently easy to move – during scene changes, a lilac screen came down (a nice colour and in keeping with the love theme, without being as clichéd as pink). Scene changes took place very quickly, and I only remember hearing one lot of thumps from behind the curtain.

Also, the ENO Chorus made a rare appearance – in the other two productions I’ve seen at the ENO, the Chorus were given the night off while the orchestra (and, briefly, a tape recorder in Samuel West’s production at the Barbican) provided an instrumental-only version of their music. Although the opera works perfectly well without a chorus, it was good to see something different at the ENO, and it was rather amusing to see Fiordiligi and Dorabella, who were so concerned about being seen entertaining other men, only too willing to get married in front of a crowd. Although if all women are indeed the same, I’m sure none of their neighbours was the least bit surprised.

Cunning Little Vixen

primi-divi at hotmail.co.uk