Opera Review /Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Canadian Opera Company)

Così fan tutte
Photo by Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company/Così fan tutte, music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, conducted by Johannes Debus, directed by Atom Egoyan, Four Seasons Centre, closes Oct. 18.

Canadian film and stage director Atom Egoyan’s unconventional production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte entered the Canadian Opera Company’s repertoire in 2014, and this is now its second revival. In other words, this is the third time I have seen it, and each encounter has presented me with a puzzle. This time, however, I think I may finally have worked it through. 

Egoyan takes the opera’s subtitle, The School for Lovers, literally and sets the action in an actual school. Egoyan adds a further twist by suggesting that the two sisters are in on the wager from the beginning. 

In Da Ponte’s libretto, Don Alfonso sets out to teach the hopelessly romantic Ferrando and Guglielmo that their fiancées are not as steadfast as they believe—hence “Così fan tutte”, roughly translates as “All women are like that.” He persuades the young soldiers to pretend that they have been called away to war, then return in disguise and woo each other’s beloved in order to test the women’s fidelity.

In Egoyan’s interpretation, Fiordiligi and Dorabella know that the departure and disguises are part of an elaborate plot. This has always troubled me. If the sisters know what is going on, why does the opera continue to unfold as written? They never acknowledge the wager again after their charade with Don Alfonso during the overture. The wager literally disappears from the opera.

On this third viewing, I think I may finally have found the answer. 

What if the women, fully aware that the disguised strangers are actually each other’s fiancés, genuinely fall in love with them. In Egoyan’s version, they know their identities all along and fall for them nonetheless. Although the original couples reunite at the end, the women are left with powerful feelings for the men they must relinquish. If that is what Egoyan is suggesting, his conceit does not weaken the emotional stakes; it makes them more painful, placing an even sharper edge on Mozart’s music and Da Ponte’s libretto.

Two further motifs reinforce Egoyan’s concept.

The first is the butterfly, which can fly freely but can also be captured in a net and pinned down. Butterfly nets appear throughout the production, and at the end of Act I the chorus advances carrying enormous pins. The image reflects the mounting pressure on Fiordiligi and Dorabella to surrender to the apparent strangers who are courting them: like the butterflies, the sisters are being pursued, captured and pinned down.

The second motif is Frida Kahlo’s famous double self-portrait The Two Fridas, which becomes a visual representation of the sisters. The women in the painting sit side by side with their exposed hearts connected by a blood vessel. One holds a miniature portrait of Diego Rivera, while the other uses a hemostat in an attempt to stop the blood flowing from a severed artery. The image evokes divided identities, emotional vulnerability and the wounds inflicted by love—all central to what Fiordiligi and Dorabella experience.

Egoyan also turns a number of the opera’s arias into classroom lectures on the nature of love. Members of the chorus sit attentively as Don Alfonso, Despina and Guglielmo dispense their various theories and advice, because this is, after all, a school for lovers. 

Così fan tutte
Photo by Michael Cooper

On this third encounter, these once-disparate elements—the sisters’ secret knowledge, the butterflies, The Two Fridas and the lectures—finally began to form a coherent whole. What had previously seemed to me a contradiction in Egoyan’s concept now appears to be its most provocative idea: the school is not merely testing fidelity, but exposing how unruly, divided and painful love can become even when everyone knows the rules of the game.

Before turning to the main event—the music—credit must be given to the Canadian design team. Debra Hanson’s school uniforms are splendid, while her whimsical schoolroom set is filled with desks, chairs and display cases of butterflies. Suspended butterflies also descend from above, while glowing lights transform the stage for the romantic scenes. Michael Walton’s atmospheric lighting further enhances Egoyan’s concept and contributes immeasurably to the production’s beauty.

This is a bold and original interpretation, provided one is willing to accept its central premise: the sisters know who the disguised men are, yet fall in love with each other’s fiancé nonetheless. That is the conceptual leap the production demands. I must add, however, that I remain unhappy with Egoyan’s ending—but I will return to that at the conclusion of this review.

Così fan tutte
Photo by Michael Cooper

Così fan tutte was Mozart’s third and final collaboration with the brilliant librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Premiered less than two years before Mozart’s death, it is the work of a composer at the height of his mature powers, and the music simply sparkles. Each of the six principal characters receives a generous share of the score.

The two acts also offer an intriguing musical contrast. Act I is dominated by ensembles in which the characters sing collectively about the increasingly complicated situation, while Act II turns inward, giving greater prominence to arias in which they express their individual feelings.

In the pit was COC Music Director Johannes Debus, who can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. Così fan tutte is a long opera, but Debus never allowed it to feel self-indulgent. He drove the quick passages at a blazing pace—the singers seemed to be running for their lives—while giving the deeply felt passages the spaciousness they required. That contrast between sparkling momentum and emotional reflection is essential to Mozart, and Debus got it absolutely right.

Because so much of Così fan tutte is written for ensembles, the production requires voices that blend seamlessly, and for the most part they did. 

For me, the standout was English tenor Laurence Kilsby, making his COC debut as Ferrando. He possesses the ideal Mozart voice: a light, pure and elegant lyric tenor that soars effortlessly, yet remains sweet and divinely luscious to the ear. His singing was quite simply angelic. Kilsby is a real find.

Also making her COC debut is Canadian mezzo-soprano Martina Myskohlid as Dorabella, whose growing career has already taken her to Europe. She possesses a beautifully mellow lyric mezzo-soprano—smooth, even from top to bottom and ideally suited to Mozart. By mellow, I mean a warm, rounded tone that is utterly pleasing to the ear, particularly in the middle register. It is wonderful to welcome a Canadian singer of this calibre to the COC stage.

Australian soprano Lauren Fagan, returning to the COC as Fiordiligi, does not possess the most conventionally beautiful voice, but it certainly commands the ear. We have previously seen her as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, and once again she proved herself to be a sensational singing actress. Fagan embraces the text, and her voice seems instinctively to understand the emotional language of the music. Her “Come scoglio”, one of the score’s great arias, was superb. Hers may not be a showy instrument, but when it comes to conveying emotion, thought and dramatic conversation through music, it is remarkably effective. That is what makes her performances so rewarding.

Canadian bass-baritone Joel Allison, who has previously appeared in supporting roles with the COC, now takes on the prominent role of Guglielmo. He possesses a wonderfully full and powerful instrument, with ringing tones that immediately command attention. At times, however, the voice was a little too penetrating for the ensembles, standing out when it needed to blend more seamlessly with the others. Nevertheless, this is a bass-baritone of tremendous promise, strength and authority. Allison already has an impressive career underway, and it will be fascinating to hear where this formidable voice takes him as his artistry continues to develop.

As Don Alfonso, seasoned Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch is a consummate singing actor who knows his way around a stage. His attractive, even voice is extraordinarily responsive: mellow when required, yet strong and authoritative when the character takes control. Most importantly, he uses it to communicate every nuance of the text and situation. Okulitch brings to the role all the assurance one expects from a performer with extensive stage experience, and he has never disappointed in any performance I have seen.

Così fan tutte
Photo by Michael Cooper

Last but certainly not least, Despina brings us that diminutive Canadian fireball coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl, who at 64 can still light up a stage. There is now an occasional trace of strain and widening vibrato in her highest notes, but Dahl can still sing up a storm. Her lilting coloratura, rapid runs and sparkling trills remain remarkably secure, while her sheer energy threatens to outstrip everyone around her. She holds her own effortlessly against a much younger cast and dominates the stage through personality, wit and vitality. What a delight—and a genuine thrill—to see this iconic Canadian singer performing with such undiminished theatrical fire.

Now back to the ending,

One element of Egoyan’s production continues to disappoint me: the ending. The two couples simply stand motionless, like four statues, when the drama cries out for some sign of what has happened between them. They might hesitate over where to stand, exchange uncertain glances or even begin to move towards their newly discovered partners. Some interaction is needed to acknowledge the emotional confusion that Egoyan’s own interpretation has created. After offering such a bold and psychologically provocative reading of Così fan tutte, he gives us a final image that says almost nothing. It is a limp conclusion, a distinct comedown and, ultimately, deeply unsatisfying.

Despite its disappointing final tableau, there is much to recommend in Egoyan’s approach to Così fan tutte. On this third viewing, the production’s many ideas finally came together for me, revealing a staging that is intellectually provocative, visually imaginative and musically superb. It may stumble at the final moment, but taken as a whole, this is a noteworthy production of Mozart’s masterpiece.