{"id":6162,"date":"2016-03-18T15:32:28","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T14:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=6162"},"modified":"2016-03-20T22:34:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-20T21:34:39","slug":"cosi-fan-tutte-opera-north-at-the-lowry-reviewed-by-emma-rhys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=6162","title":{"rendered":"Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em>, Opera North at The Lowry, reviewed by Emma Rhys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em>, The Lowry, Salford Quays, 16\u201318 March 2016<\/p>\n

Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em> \u2013 the politically incorrect title translated variously as \u2018Women Are Like That\u2019, \u2018They\u2019re All the Same\u2019, or the preferable, \u2018The School for Lovers\u2019 \u2013 is an Italian opera composed by Mozart in 1790 to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Commissioned by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II \u2013 considered one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs \u2013 Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em> reflects the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, described by Immanuel Kant as \u2018man\u2019s release from his self-inflicted immaturity\u2019, and, according to this opera, his na\u00efve faith in the ideals of romantic love, particularly the fidelity of women. (A theme similarly explored in 1744\u2019s La dispute<\/em> by Pierre de Marivaux, but without the gender bias of Cos\u00ec<\/em> \u2013 an extract of which is presented in Opera North\u2019s highly informative programme.)<\/p>\n

In this production, Opera North successfully reflect the Enlightenment backdrop through various devices. The action is set within a large construction of a wooden camera obscura. First onto the stage is the philosopher, Don Alfonso, who, hovering outside the camera obscura as he introduces the opera, will attempt to support his hypothesis that constancy and fidelity in romantic love are fallacious beliefs, through a cruel experiment on two young couples engaged to be married. Into the camera obscura, Don Alfonso projects the romantic ideals of the two young fianc\u00e9s, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who, confident that their loves will remain faithful if tested, agree to a wager with Alfonso. Their ideals are soon turned upside down.<\/p>\n

Barefooted and wearing colourful Ottoman clothing \u2013 which the women too gradually reveal as undergarments as they give in to the seduction \u2013 Ferrando and Guglielmo, having faked their departure to fight in an unnamed war, re-enter the scene disguised as two foreign suitors. What ensues is an emotional journey for the two women, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, set to Mozart\u2019s lively, light-hearted yet dramatic score as the conflicted women find themselves torn between desire and guilt.<\/p>\n

Enter Despina \u2013 the maid and Don Alfonso\u2019s \u2018lab assistant\u2019 \u2013 to \u2018reason\u2019 with the women, encouraging them to treat the dalliance as a harmless diversion while they await their fianc\u00e9s\u2019 return. Ellie Laugharne shows great charisma in the role of Despina, who also disguises herself as a doctor to treat the two suicidal suitors, whose advances are initially rebuffed, and later a lawyer to marry the couples, or perhaps not. Playing a somewhat resentful maid whose dissatisfactions are made known from the beginning \u2013 reflecting the burgeoning French Revolution at the time \u2013 she also effectively plays the role of the Italian doctor, whose occasional use of faulty Latin reflects the Enlightenment writers who had begun translating inaccessible scientific documents into the vernacular.<\/p>\n

Maire Flavin and Helan Sherman were wonderful as the two female protagonists, whose voices were able to carry the emotional intensity and fluctuations of Mozart\u2019s musical score, while avoiding marionette-style depictions of their characters as each battles their moral conscience. They also showed great comedic ability in their physicality and delivery of their lines. William Dazeley and Gavan Ring, who played Ferrando and Guglielmo, also sang beautifully, but their characters were perhaps underplayed and the production would have benefitted from stronger acting to do justice to the wit and humour of the libretto.<\/p>\n

At three hours in length, Opera North\u2019s Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em> sometimes felt over-long, primarily when it was difficult to follow the dialogue in some of the longer scenes, the contents of which often had to be inferred from the emotional expressions of the music. However, I greatly appreciated Opera North\u2019s thought-provoking interpretation of the dramatic conflict between science, reason and the human heart.
\n 
\nEmma Rhys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cos\u00ec fan tutte, The Lowry, Salford Quays, 16\u201318 March 2016 Cos\u00ec fan tutte \u2013 the politically incorrect title translated variously as \u2018Women Are Like That\u2019, \u2018They\u2019re All the Same\u2019, or the preferable, \u2018The School for Lovers\u2019 \u2013 is an Italian opera composed by Mozart in 1790 to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Commissioned by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[283,17],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nCos\u00ec fan tutte, Opera North at The Lowry, reviewed by Emma Rhys - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=6162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cos\u00ec fan tutte, Opera North at The Lowry, reviewed by Emma Rhys - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cos\u00ec fan tutte, The Lowry, Salford Quays, 16\u201318 March 2016 Cos\u00ec fan tutte \u2013 the politically incorrect title translated variously as \u2018Women Are Like That\u2019, \u2018They\u2019re All the Same\u2019, or the preferable, \u2018The School for Lovers\u2019 \u2013 is an Italian opera composed by Mozart in 1790 to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. 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