{"id":2415,"date":"2015-07-09T10:56:28","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T09:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2015-07-09T10:56:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T09:56:28","slug":"garsington-opera-cosi-fan-tutte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=2415","title":{"rendered":"Garsington Opera: Cosi fan tutte"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 8 July 2015<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cosi<\/a><\/p>\n

With the exception of the fine Figaro<\/i> from John Cox, recent Mozart productions by Garsington Opera have, to say the least, been questionable, but this reimagining of Cosi<\/i> from John Fulljames and Douglas Boyd is about as good as it gets.<\/p>\n

Setting the whole evening within a wedding celebration could seem yet another director\u2019s concept but in practice it works splendidly. At no point does the action seem strained and the unfamiliar circumstances, the endlessly free flowing alcohol and the loss of inhibitions all make the unlikely events seem all the more credible. Even the outlandish costumes \u2013 the younger women in eighteenth century dresses and vast wigs \u2013 are not too far-fetched. Anyone who has seen a few episodes of Don\u2019t Tell The Bride<\/i> will know that!<\/p>\n

Within the unfolding events of the wedding the two couples are put through their paces by a cynic who has seen it all before and an organiser \u2013 Despina \u2013 who is used to playing games. What proves so convincing is the quality of the characterisation which unfolds. Where at the start there is little to choose between them, the moral character of each develops before us, until the conclusion \u2013 though startling \u2013 is in retrospect inevitable. Kathryn Rudge\u2019s Dorabella is a fiery individual, out to enjoy herself, and Smanie implacabili<\/i> is hurled across the stage with passion. It is no wonder that she is easily seduced by Ashley Riches\u2019 louche Guglielmo. As he draws her on they start to undress and their off stage sex is clearly happening. In contrast Andreea Soare\u2019s beautifully sung Fiordiligi remains moral and unmoved, her Come scoglio<\/i> the heart of her character. Robin Tritschler\u2019s Ferrando is equally uncomfortable with the games until he starts to realise that maybe Fiordiligi has more to offer than the flighty Dorabella. It comes as little surprise in the final moments to find Fiordiligi and Ferrando together, leaving a distraught Guglielmo and Dorabella to face up to what they have done and lost.<\/p>\n

Through all of this Douglas Boyd keeps the score moving with a sense of attack and immediacy which focuses on the narrative rather than allowing singers to indulge themselves. This does not mean that it is ever rushed or over-hasty. Ferrando\u2019s un\u2019aura amorosa<\/i> is lovingly phrased, and there are many moments of real intimacy even in the extrovert surroundings of the wedding breakfast. Above all, the work is taken seriously. This may be a drama giocoso<\/i> but it is not a light comedy. Lives are broken here \u2013 and though the young people may be able to pick up and start again, they will never be the same afterwards. Though Neal Davies\u2019 avuncular Don Alfonso may set the games in progress, it is the young couples themselves who see them through and there is never any sense that he is a puppet master. If things end unhappily then Don Alfonso has proved his point.<\/p>\n

\"Cosi<\/a><\/p>\n

Is it simply the mishaps of an over-enthusiastic wedding? Possibly, but then life is full of events over which we think we have control, only to learn later that maybe we didn\u2019t. Mozart\u2019s genius is to show us the mistakes before we make them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 8 July 2015 With the exception of the fine Figaro from John Cox, recent Mozart productions by Garsington Opera have, to say the least, been questionable, but this reimagining of Cosi from John Fulljames and Douglas … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2418,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions\/2418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}