Ariz. Opera’s ‘Cosí’ a sweetheart of a production
*Kenneth LaFave*
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 11, 2005 12:00 AM
Cosí fan tutte’s story is simple, its music transparent and its theme heartfelt and genuine: It’s “reality opera” in a far deeper sense of “real” than any bare-facts TV show.
Mozart’s 1790 opera about the maturation of romantic love requires a no-fuss production that gets at the heart of the story, and a cast that sings well without getting in the way of the characters. It needs exactly what Arizona Opera has given it in the Cosí that opened over the weekend at Orpheum Theatre.
The jury has been out on Joel Revzen’s stewardship of our state’s only professional opera company since he was named artistic director (and, later, general director) in 2003, but if the current season’s earlier offerings didn’t clinch the opera-loving public’s approval, this lithe, sweet-but-never-saccharine, robustly cast and nimbly performed production of Mozart’s subtlest opera certainly should. Revzen makes his conducting debut with the company, leading an orchestra that been cleaned up and strengthened, especially in the strings. Director Ron Daniels’ staging pleases the eye with varied tableau and the mind with insights into characters.
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