Sadly little to report recently due to a combination of work, social life and sheer laziness. Nonetheless, I yet again manage to bring you an entirely useless review on a production now finished. The possibility in this case of a revival may mark what I write up to potentially useful, if anyone can still find it by the time that occassion comes. Certainly, the production in question deserves plenty of revivals.

I came to Jonathan Miller’s clearly rather unorthodox take on Cosi Fan Tutte almost entirely unfamiliar with the opera. Having now had experience with Mozart only through such modern-dress takes on it, coming across a so-called traditional production might come as a bit of a shock. Actually, this production works on two levels; jokes like the lovers photographing their misdeeds on their mobile phones may raise a laugh simply from the presence of these most un-Mozartian of appliances. But for the most part, they also work dramatically; the vanity and delight taken by the men is all to clear as they revel in humiliating the other’s fiancée. Certainly, the traditionally sexist nature of the Opera is offset by presenting the men as quite as vile as the women, and probably more so. And the palpable hostility between them following the supposed resurrection of the relationships at the end suggests their tensions are far from over.

The strongest character, both in terms of moral fibre and delineation in the writing, is Fiordiligi, played here by Dorothea Roschmann doing a fine line both in vocal dexterity and despair. Her first aria was delivered with dazzling and electric ferocity, while her second also showed off a rich lower range to great effect. I was surprised to read that she played Pamina just a few years at Covent Garden to great success, a part that is associated normally with a far lighter, less mature sound. That would seem more suited to Elina Garanca as the shallower Dorabella, a Covent Garden debutante showing wonderful poise and a pure, soaring voice.

Thomas Allen, now a regular Don Alfonso in this production, sparkled in his acting, though vocally seemed to be holding back. No matter; In a part also played by Allen in his youth, Lorenzo Regazzo had more opportunities to shine in this respect, though some of the comedy of both he and Mathew Polenzani as Ferrando was a little laboured. Rebecca Evans projected more successfully a comic character in a space that, in all fairness, could scarcely be less welcoming to that kind of domestic comedy. The orchestra was conducted with a wonderful lightness of touch by Colin Davis. To the ears of somebody as yet relatively unfamiliar with opera, it all seemed pretty faultless. You can almost forget that set to anyone else's music (or, worse still, performed as a straight play) a three and a half hour piece on this story would become nigh on unbearable.

I wonder why this blog doesn't appear on google when I search it? Clearly I'm doing something wrong...