The recent performances of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Lyric Opera of Chicago feature an ensemble of new and familiar voices. In this production, staged originally at the San Francisco Opera, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are sung by Jacquelyn Stucker and Cecilia Molinari. Their lovers Guglielmo and Ferrando are portrayed by Ian Rucker and Anthony León. The pair mastering the emotional ruse, Despina and Don Alfonso, features Ana María Martínez and Rod Gilfry. The Lyric Opera Orchestra is conducted by Enrique Mazzola. The production was originally directed by Michael Cavanagh, the revival being directed by Roy Rallo. Sets and projections are designed by Erhard Rom, while costumes are designed by Constance Hoffman. The recitative accompanist is Jerad Mosbey, and the Lyric Opera Chorus is prepared by Micharl Black. Making debuts in these performances at Lyric Opera are Mmes. Stucker and Molinari, as well as Messrs. León, Cavanagh, and Rom.
Perhaps because of its – in part – generalized consideration of emotional constancy Così fan tutte seems to lend itself to imaginative, dramatic concepts. In the present realization, a 1930s country club determines action, sets, and costumes. During the overture, conducted by Mr. Mazzola with alternating brisk and halting tempos, projections onto a scrim indicate the locale as a country club under the management of Don Alfonso. As a logical consequence, stylized images of motorcars arriving with patrons prepare for the action to come.
As an illustration of the venue and time, the first scene between Ferrando, Guglielmo, and Don Alfonso takes place in a locker room and features playful jabs in fencing. Messrs. Rucker and León are vocally well matched. In the opening series of three short trios both singers defend the virtues of their lovers with earnest vigor, while Mr. Gilfry’s Alfonso uses a sober and determined line of argument. By the close of the scene, Alfonso’s wager is here energetically accepted, and the following day will prove the prediction or the exception.
The scene introducing the women yields a similarly confident praise of their suitors interrupted by Don Alfonso’s revelation. The complementary vocal lines of Mmes. Stucker and Molinari as Fiordiligi and Dorabella blend touchingly in their brief duet beginning “Io sono felice!” Mutual and confident praise of their suitors is shattered at Don Alfonso’s entrance. The feigned announcement of an immediate call to military duty stops the dreamy leisure here portrayed at the club. When the gentlemen appear to participate in Alfonso’s ruse, tempos slow here in the lovers’ quartet to a gentle and wistful languor expressed with exquisite control ending at the distended “Addio.” When Don Alfonso announces “Son partiti,” the trio “Soave sia il vento” is performed with tender precision. For this well-known number the sea-blue panels of the stage back-drop close, allowing only the trio of singers to perform the ensemble while in highlight at the front of the stage.
The following scene integrates into the ensemble the final member of the cast, the ladies’ maid Despina. In this role Ms. Martínez is perky, vocally adept, and dramatically energetic with a flair for the comic. Martínez’s opening lines illustrate her use of the setting to define the role and her complaints about the duties of a domestic. Upon the return of her mistresses, upset by their alleged abandonment, the series of solo numbers alternating with ensembles shapes the following scenes. Dorabella’s “Smanie implacabile” is sung by Molinari with controlled emotion, yet one can sense the despair of longing in her delivery, which concludes with effective variation in the repeat. Despina’s advice is expressed by Martínez at “In uomini, in soldati” with as much fervor and fizz as the champagne cork she releases. This Despina sails with delight through the rapid segments of the score while lingering knowingly on specific pitches to emphasize her message. The reemergence of Don Alfonso initiates a collaborative effort with Despina’s participation. Once the gentlemen reappear and begin their disguise with comic gestures, the sisters are – at the least – confused by the supposed Albanians. Fiodiligi’s declaration of her constancy culminates in “Come scoglio,” performed by Stucker with agility and dramatic force. The balance of top and low pitches is maintained clearly at the start, while understated embellishments decorate the middle section of the aria. Notes taken forte at the close emphasize Fiordiligi’s resolve to continue as faithful.
Subsequent exchanges lead to the arias for baritone and tenor, presented here in the expected, traditional order. Rucker’s approach to the baritone solo shows both vocal and physical commitment, as he gestures convincingly while not departing from an assured, lyrical line. Decorative, vocal runs add sumptuously to the effect of the aria. The tenor solo, “Un aura amorosa” before the extended, group finale to Act One, showcases León’s legato technique and his talent at piano phrasing. After this sympathetic pause in the action a series of frenetic appeals by the gentlemen reveals their desire for an emotional solution to a seeming physical malady. The physical request is, for now, denied.
The second act of Così fan tutte features the character Despina toward the start and the close. In both scenes Martínez provides vocal and dramatic expertise as she contributes to further complications and resolution of the plot. While appealing to the sisters’ better sense as women to start Act Two, Despina’s aria “Una donna a quindici anni” outlines her model of female social behavior and controlled dissemblance. Here, Martínez acts and sings for the ladies to imitate her wisdom, communicated even further through apt facial expressions. As a final touch, she relies on rubato and a soft trill to capture Despina’s message. After the sisters consider these words, their earlier resolve begins to falter. Further machinations of the well-meaning conspirators bring together first the newly formed couple of Dorabella and Guglielmo, with the latter observing wryly “Infelice Ferrando.” Despite what may be taken as superior defenses, Fiordiligi falls to Ferrando after both Stucker and León sing of their individual plights in impressively florid displays. Despina’s final masquerade while officiating at the mock ceremony of marriage is gratefully not overdone, and the final sextet celebrates in swirling vocal celebration a lesson, to be hoped, learned by all. This excellent cast and delightful performance argue for Così fan tutte to be performed with greater frequency.
Salvatore Calomino
Così fan tutte
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
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Top image: Jacquelyn Stucker as Fiordiligi, Anthony León as Ferrando, Ian Rucker as Guglielmo, and Cecilia Molinari as Dorabella
All photos © Cory Weaver