W. A. MOZART'S COSI FAN TUTTE (They're All the Same) A comic opera in 2 acts.

This DVD is a film of the most popular of Mozart's comic operas based on libretto by Da Ponte. The sung arias are pre-recorded and are lip-sync to in order to allow the singers to concentrate on acting. The recitatives (accompanied sung dialogues between songs) are recorded live.

Brief Synopsis
The sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are engaged to the 2 soldiers and best-friends Guglielmo and Ferrando. Being offended by their rich mentor Don Alfonso's assertion that all girls (including Fiordiligi and Dorabella) are untrustworthy lovers. The boys agree to a wager with Don Alfonso to test the girls' fidelity by pretending to go off to combat and then sneaking back in disguise as 2 Arab suitors to try to seduce each other's girl friend with the help of the girls' sly maid Despina. After much ado about nothing... this is at heart a farce after all... the girls succumb to their "new" suitors, much to the boys' dismay (as if they have much to complain about! They were the first to breach the trust anyhow).

But this being a comic opera (hence a sad ending isn't allowed or the Emperor might not laugh.... and that wouldn't be good to any composer's career, to say the least), everybody is forgiven and all join in a marvelous ensemble that ends the opera singing, "Happy is he who makes the best out of any situation, and lets reason guide him through trials and tribulations." What an awkward thing to sing to end any opera with this silly a plot, but when the music is composed by one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, it is sublime.

Music
This opera is often dismissed off hand for it's air-headed plot (and yes, it is about as silly as operas get), but if you pay attention to the music; however, it is deeper than the libretto would have you believe. What is really marvelous about this piece is how Mozart transforms the 4 lovers from being chips from the same block to 4 distinct personalities by the end of the opera via his manipulation of their music. At the start they are all over the top in idol worshiping their other half, the music lines for each seem almost identical and perfectly in sync, but as the opera progresses each personality gradually distinguish themselves (thank in no small part to the scheme of Don Alfonso and Despina).

The differentiation is best noticed in ensemble pieces (it helps that there are 6 duets jammed into 2 acts!) and where they react more and more differently to the same set of circumstances. Fiordiligi remains resolute and indignant at the thought of betraying her beloved for the longest time and when she does give way she is ridden with guilt about it. Dorabella, on the other hand, only puts up a brief resistance for posterity before jumping the ship gleefully. Ferrando becomes desolately disappointed when Dorabella falls for his friend in disguise, while Guglielmo becomes angry and launches into a tirade when his immovable rock Fiordiligi became movable.

The only characters whose music remain unchanged are the 2 schemers and outsiders Don Alfonso and Despina. But then we aren't supposed to be focusing on them anyhow.

CAST:
Don Alfonso (Rich mentor of Ferrando & Guglielmo): Paolo Montarsolo (bass)
Ferrando (Dorabella's fiancé, not as magnetic as he thinks he is ): Luis Lima (tenor)
Guglielmo (Ferrando's buddy, Fiordiligi's fiancé, too magnetic for his friend's sake): Ferrucio Furlanetto (baritone)
Fiordiligi (Guglielmo's fiancée, tries hard to resist temptation): Edita Gruberova (soprano)
Dorabella (Fiordiligi's sister, pretends to try hard to resist temptations): Delores Ziegler (mezzo-soprano)
Despina (Fiordiligi's and Dorabella's disgruntledly sly maid): Teresa Stratas (soprano)
Nikolaus Harnoncourt / Wiener Philharmoniker
Chorus Master: Helmuth Froschauer / Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Stage Director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Samples:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTl8jKRNH0Y (trios)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTW7V7SuW74 (Despina's In uomini, in soldati)

Set in a Palladian Villa, this 1988 film by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is quite surreal looking. It's like watching a dream or an animated version of those fairy tale story books with pictures in them. It somehow works though it is odd to me that the sisters are present when Don Alfonso questions their fidelity to their fiances. And why are all the furniture draped with white clothe as if the place is't lived in? And the oddest of all is how Ferrando courts Fiordiligi without having any facial disguise on... and how the two exchange a lusty look at the end even though they've gone back to their original intended. O well, this film is well made nonetheless (it helps that the plot is already unbelievable to begin with).

This performance is effectively stolen in plain sight by the Despina of Teresa Stratas. I'm sorry I never had the pleasure of experiencing Ms Stratas in theater. This Greek-Canadian little fireball of a soprano is quite a comic actress. A maid to be reckon with, she is absolutely hilarious in Despina's various disguises and is on an opera-long prodigious crime spree of scene-stealing. Delores Ziegler and Ferrucio Furlanetto as Dorabella and Guglielmo also prove themselves excellent actors as well as singers.

The singing is wonderful, with the exception of Paolo Montarsolo as Don Alfonso. His shaky bass nearly cancels out all the dreamy quality of the wonderful Act I trio Soave sia il vento (this trio shows up occasionally as soundtrack in tv ads for cars). I get the impression he is cast more for his considerable acting skills rather than for his voice. This Don Alfonso is more devilish than I'm used to, however. I can't say that I take to him much since I like this character to be a bit more of a merry trouble maker rather than one that may really have a sinister motive. Anyhow, he mostly appears in ensemble pieces (unless you count the 30 sec or so worth of unaccompanied singing when he tells the sisters their boys are being sent to the front line), so he doesn't really hurt the musical performance.

Edita Gruberova sings Fiordiligi. The Czech soprano is one of the best coloratura (florid virtuoso singing) specialist to ever grace the stage, though she is not known for her acting.... for good reason. But then when she sings as well as she does, she can get away with a lot. Her 'Come scoglio immota resta (like a rock, immovably rested)' showcases her unearthly ease at florid singing and her ,' Per pieta, ben mio, perdona' shows off her superb vocal acting. She never resorts to crooning or miming sobs, but all the emotions are in the voice itself. A marvel of an artist!

The (Hungarian-German) American mezzo-soprano Delores Ziegler is a good Dorabella. She is a surprisingly good comic actress, more comfortable in her acting than Frau Gruberova is. On the vocal front she does beautifully as well, especially in Dorabella's big mischievous Act II aria, 'È amor la londrocello (love is a flighty thief).' Her Act I Smanie implacabile is quite deliciously exaggerated and funny, also.

Ferrando and Guglielmo are sung respectively by the Argentinian tenor Luis Lima and the Italian baritone Ferrucio Furlanetto. They have great chemistry fitting of best of friends and are strong and youthful vocally. Furlanetto has an edge on the acting front, tho.


Maestro Harnoncourt is supportive of his singers and sets an easy going pace with his Wiener Philharmoniker, once again showing his (now taken for granted) masterly read of Mozart's music. Understated, but with nice supportive highlighting when a character makes a musical point.

There are 2 DVD (an act a piece) with extras on the second that includes a 30 min film of this production's rehearsal (only interesting for about 10 minutes or so... unless you think Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is cute while he bosses everybody around directing). Sung in Italian with subtitle in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, and Chinese. The booklet contains track listing with track-by-track brief synopsis and a note on the production in English, German, and French.

If you are interested in Mozart opera, you might enjoy these other reviews:
Apollo et Hyacinthus (Salzburg 2006), Ascanio in Alba (Salzburg 2006), Bastien und Bastienne/Der Schauspieldirektor (Salzburg 2006), La clemenza di Tito (Salzburg 2003), La clemenza di Tito (Zürich 2005), La clemenza di Tito (Munich 2006), La clemenza di Tito (JE Gardiner), Cosi fan tutte (Ponnelle film), Don Giovanni (Met 2000), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Salzburg 1998), La finta giardiniera (Salzburg 2006), La finta semplice (Salzburg 2006), Idomeneo (Salzburg 2006), Idomeneo (Met 198-), Lucio Silla (Salzburg 2006), Mitridate (Salzburg 1997), Mitridate (Rousset), Le nozze di Figaro (live performance- SDO 2007), Die Zauberflöte (ROH 2001), Die Zauberflöte (Modena 2005), Die Zauberflöte (Zürich 1999)

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8