Photograph: Theatre Royal
Somehow, on International Women's Day, I managed to see what could be the most misogynistic opera on current stages. That's not to judge the production, which was broadly very good, and operas for repertoire are most often chosen on their music rather than their story. However, with this totally failing the Bechdel test plus the main thrust (forgive the pun) in the story being sleeping with your mate's girlfriend then this isn't likely to feature in Spare Rib.
Set in 18th century Naples, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tute opens with Don Alfonso, a cynical scientist and teacher, betting his two young friends Guglielmo and Ferrando that their girlfriends, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, are no more faithful to them than any other woman. Their wager of 1000 scudo comes, however, with the proviso that they must do as Don Alfonso says for the whole of the next day. Alfonso then informs the women that their men are leaving for war with the Turks and they may not return alive. Despina, Fiordiligi and Dorabella's maid who has bribed by Don Alfonso, urges them to find other lovers, but they declare their fidelity. Guglielmo and Ferrando then return, disguised as Albanians replete with comic moustaches, and set about trying to seduce the other's girl.
It's a romp, but it has some truly dark moments which have not aged well. The text feels like an amalgam of elements of Shakespeare - Cymbeline, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew but most of all Measure for Measure for it's disguised men and pressured- to downright-rapey sexual situations. When, toward the end of Act I, Guglielmo and Ferrando are electrocuted after ingesting poison I was pleased to see for one moment since their disguised re-entry that they were, for once, not attempting to get into anyone's knickers. This is, of course, criticism of an out-dated libretto, but cannot be seperated from the production.
To look at Opera North's staging here, the whole action of Tim Albery’s production is contained within a giant camera obscura, resembling an old-fashioned tripod camera. The drama unfolds in the blackboard-like surrounds of this laboratory room as neat dual device of both the wager and the physical design. Through the practicalities of the optics of a camera obscura, it is also a clever metaphor for a world turned upside down.
In the cast Máire Flavin stands out in probably the piece's most difficult part, Fiordiligi, and her long aria Per pietà, damning her temptation and bemoaning the absence of Guglielmo, is utterly spell-binding. Baritone Gavan Ring as Guglielmo gives a great comic turn and I enjoyed William Dazeley's performance as Don Alfonso with his puckish interventions, nods, winks and wry smiles - he even returns from the interval with a glass of wine. There are more awkward moments, however, with Despina's aria Una donna a quindici anni or A woman at fifteen years old leaving a slightly sour taste in light of the recent Adam Johnson trial. Ellie Laugharne as Despina is nonetheless great fun, popping up as both sadistic doctor and marriage contract lawyer.
However, my major gripe was the piece being sung in English rather than its original Italian. The translation lost much of the flowing poetry from the libretto and made much of this feel more like a hammy Gilbert and Sullivan - this at odds with the musical brilliance of Mozart's score. Coupled with this was the sheer noisiness of the band. The usual surtitles were deemed unneeded and I found myself straining to fully follow
Mostly though, I'm a fan of hearing the opera in its original form, following the story through the mood and tone of the music and singing rather than knowing what everyone's saying - can you follow what everyone says in a quartet or more? No, but the music tells its own tale. Surely that's what opera is all about.
Cosi fan tutte was at Theatre Royal Nottingam on Tuesday 8 and Friday 11 March 2016.
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