Cosi Fan Tutte

There is much to love in this new production for Opera Queensland; fine playing by the QSO at the top of its game and stunningly conducted by Zoe Zenniodi; Mozart’s exquisite and often delicate music; excellent singing; a charming and evocative first act set by Elizabeth Gadsby; and some truly hilarious physical comedy, a forte of director Patrick Nelson.

But the question is, can a story from almost 300 years ago translate successfully intact to NOW, when the manners, morals and mores of the two time frames have little or nothing in common. It’s true that love and fidelity are timeless universal subjects to be explored (Shakespeare used the same device in Cymbeline hundreds of years earlier) but it’s the TELLING of the story which makes it credible (or not).

Nolan chooses to set the story in the 21^st century. He very cleverly uses the overture (usually dead stage time) to set the back story - a lovely Tuscan villa, two sisters on holiday with their lovers - and here lovers means a physical relationship, is set up in the first few minutes. Bravo. We know where we are and what’s going on and it’s enforced by the pink suitcase on wheels, and (later) the television on in Despina’s room (a lovely touch.) But it’s Nolan’s rich use of the present which unravels any credibility in the story. By bringing the physical relationship between the lovers into clear focus, it then becomes ludicrous that the girls would not recognise their fiancés when in disguise as Albanians - especially when their bodies are on prominent display in beach wear. It’s a far cry from two sisters in their own home being courted in the 18^th century. Even if one is prepared to suspend disbelief, once one stops believing the premise of a test, in disguise, to find out whether women can be faithful, it is hard to engage or connect.

Putting that obvious flaw aside (and the fact that there is so much sexual coercion in Act Two it makes Harvey Weinstein look like an absolute beginner, and our two 21^st century independent females become victims and outcasts from the #MeToo movement) Act One is a joyful experience. (Props to Lighting designer Bernie Tan-Hayes for the lovely northern Italy light).

Shaun Brown (Don Alfonso) brings a wealth of experience and sophistication to the role of the older friend who sets the shenanigans in motion. Great stage presence and a lyrical baritone make him appealing, though perhaps a stronger vocal authority over his two charges may have helped persuade us more.

Jeremy Kleeman is the perfect Gugliemo. His powerful baritone also stretches to bass in his bottom register, such is the tessitura of the role, and he has matinee idol good looks. He also possesses a fine sense of comic timing which he uses to maximum effect. Tenor Brenton Spiteri (Ferrando) is every bit his equal in comic ability and the two are hilarious in the scene where they try to impress the girls with their physical prowess – and a little later in the poisoning scene where the director pulls out all the stops and ventures into slapstick territory, much to the audience’s delight. Spiteris’s only fault seems to be a slight loss of power in his head register so that some gloriously sweet top notes are hard to hear.

Leanne Kenneally brings more than 25 years of operatic experience to the stage (how I wish I had seen her Lakme) and is still in fine voice. Now she plays character roles with extraordinary command, and almost steals the night with her portrayal of the maid Despina, as well as a wonderfully absurd doctor and an even funnier notary.

But the night belongs to the Divas, as it should. Anna Dowsley is stunning as the oversexed and ready to party Dorabella. The rich round tones of the mezzo are equalled by a power that seems at odds with her slender physicality. She is a powerhouse of a singer who could surely fill the largest opera house with her voice and her presence.

As Fiordiligi, Samantha Clarke’s top register and trills are sublime, with just the right degree of vibrato. Her dynamics in the soft and tender moments are flawless with perfect balance between crescendo and decrescendo, and she embodies the character with a certain coquettish shyness which is very appealing.

Despite minor reservations over things outside of Opera Queensland’s control (blame Da Ponte) overall this is an entertaining production which could in fact push the societal questions at its heart even further - and that story problem is easily fixed by  a rewriting of two or three lines in the libretto that lets the girls in on the charade, determined to turn the tables on their lovers for not believing in them. Then we truly would have a 21^st century rendition we can applaud even louder than the standing ovation on opening night.

Coral Drouyn

Image: Jade Ferguson @ Visual Poets Society