Così fan tutte is often described as an effervescent comedy, but beneath the froth is a deliciously dark and poignant vision of the human heart. There’s a happy ending in the 1790 Mozart–da Ponte dramma giocoso about a pair of besotted naval officers who enter into a wager to test the fidelity of their girlfriends. But observers can’t help feeling that resolution comes at a price; these young lovers, once they’ve emerged from the fire, may never love, or trust, quite so deeply again. This is an opera about the loss of innocence, as well as about a dawning awareness of the limitations of love.
One of the strengths of the new Opera San José production is the way it balances the opera’s extreme mood swings, from silly low humor to lofty declarations of courtly love. The results, in Saturday night’s opening performance at the California Theatre, were polished, hugely enjoyable, and thought-provoking, too.
Credit for the production, which comes midway through the company’s 25th-anniversary season, begins with David Rohrbaugh, Opera San José’s founding music director and principal conductor. Rohrbaugh led a smartly paced performance in the pit, and the singers, from the six principals to the San José Opera Chorus, all proved to be excellent collaborators in bringing Mozart’s score to life.
Beyond that, Saturday’s performance boasted a vibrant spirit that buoyed the production through its nearly three-hour running time. As staged by director Brad Dalton, even the most intricately timed comic bits ran like a well-oiled machine, and the performers seemed to be enjoying every minute of the ride.
Così fan tutte often receives modern treatment; it’s as if directors can’t imagine its kind of libidinous heat in any era but our own. But Dalton takes a traditional approach. The unit set (based on designs by Giulio Cesare Perrone, adapted by Larry Hancock and stylishly lit by Matthew Antaky) is a circular atrium of marble walls and five large doors overlooking the Bay of Naples. The singers are costumed in 18th-century finery, with lacy pastel gowns for the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella and smart military wear for the male protagonists, Ferrando and Guglielmo.
Confidence in the Music Itself
Betany Coffland as Dorabella
Rebecca Davis as Fiordiligi
Michael Daily as Ferrando
Most important, Dalton trusts the music. Everything you need to know about these characters — their desires, their egos, their deceptions — is embedded in the score (as well as in da Ponte’s well-crafted libretto), and, for the most part, the director let the story proceed unimpeded. At moments he pushed a little too hard for laughs (a bit of tired shtick in the Dr. Mesmer scene) or veered into areas of questionable taste (did we really need to see Ferrando and Guglielmo sniffing the dresses the girls had just changed out of?). For the most part, though, the staging was apt.
as Despina
The singers rose to the challenges of Mozart’s vocal writing with often-splendid results. Rebecca Davis was a refined, bright-toned Fiordiligi; the soprano, despite a few edgy notes, gave assured accounts of both “Come scoglio” and “Per pieta,” and she played the character with a keen mixture of desire, desperation, and outrage. Mezzo-soprano Betany Coffland produced a plusher Italianate sound as Dorabella, deftly capturing the ardor of the moment in scene after scene.
Tenor Michael Dailey made a suave, smooth-voiced Ferrando, and Daniel Cilli’s firm, elegantly voiced baritone was a decided asset in the role of Guglielmo. Both men had tentative moments in their stage business, and all four leads could have made their seductions more keenly felt. Still, Dailey sounded sweet in the high tessitura of “Un aura amorosa.” And Cilli, partnering with Coffland, sang with urgency in their Act 2 duet.
Soprano Khori Dastoor gave a chirpy, physically expressive performance as the saucy maid, Despina, and bass-baritone Joseph Rawley, despite a few wooly outbursts, made a robust, expansive Don Alfonso. The opening night cast returns on Feb. 12, 15, and 17; soprano Rebecca Schuessler (Fiordiligi), mezzo Cybele Gouverneur (Dorabella), tenor Alexander Boyer (Ferrando), baritone Krassen Karagiozov (Guglielmo), and soprano Jennie Litster (Despina) will appear in the alternate performances of Feb. 8, 14, 20, and 22.
Throughout the evening, Rohrbaugh conducted with a light but admirably firm pulse, letting the score unfold at a leisurely pace, without a trace of bombast. Even as the characters endured the wild ups and downs of love, the ease and fluency of Mozart reigned supreme.