The Canadian Opera Company’s season continues with another revival. This time it’s Atom Egoyan’s production of Così fan tutte first seen in 2014 and then again in 2019. The current version appears to be the somewhat shorter 2019 edition, running for two 90-minute acts. Egoyan’s concept riffs off the work’s subtitle ‘The School for Lovers’ with a visual overlay of imagery based around Frida Kahlo paintings and pinioned butterflies. So, everybody except Don Alfonso and Despina is a student at the school for lovers. The girls wear school uniforms, as do the chorus, who spend a lot of their time sitting or standing around taking notes. The whole thing is a lesson, so presumably the central quartet are in on the deception from the start; which is one way of dealing with the central dilemma of staging this opera.
I think this time there’s also a bit of a visual joke going on with the height of the characters. Daniel Okulitch, the Don Alfonso, is very tall whereas Joel Allison (Guglielmo) and Laurence Kilsby, (Ferrando) are both a very average height. They are slightly taller than the very well matched, indeed well nigh indistinguishable, sisters, Lauren Fagan (Fiordiligi) and Martina Myskohild (Dorabella). Then the cast is rounded out by the diminutive Tracy Dahl (the one returning cast member from other earlier runs) as Despina and she looks especially tiny, and very funny, when impersonating the doctor and the notary.
It’s also an interesting choice to depict Despina as much older than the sisters. There’s another height joke too during "Soave sia il vento”, with a solemn procession of female choristers with ships on their heads starting with the tallest and finishing with the shortest; the size of the ship models diminishing in proportion too.
Concept and visuals aside it’s a pretty straightforward, fairly fast-paced romp. All the big numbers were sung really well. “Smanie implacabili” was lovely and showed Myskohild as perhaps more the second soprano Mozart envisaged than a modern, darker, mezzo. “Come scoglio” allowed Fagan to show off her range and acting skills. There was a very lyrical “Un’aura amorosa” from Kilsby. Allison’s "Donne mie, la fate a tanti” sounded suitably smug but he was a more sympathetic and less menacing Guglielmo than some; notably Robert Gleadow in 2014 who looked likely to explode at any moment. It’s also pretty physical with a lot of leaping around, skipping and dancing; especially from the sisters, which just makes them look even cuter.
Okulitch was an impressive and sympathetic Don Alfonso, excellent in the many ensembles. He often had to mime conducting the chorus and did this with gestures very reminiscent of conductor Johannes Debus; a nice touch for house regulars. Dahl came close to stealing the show. Despina’s arias are appropriately knowing and her clowning as doctor and apothecary was excellent. Sticking her magnet up Guglielmo’s bottom got the biggest laugh of the evening.
The chorus have a lot to do in this production and their singing was excellent as was their busy stage action. The orchestra was on fine form and if Johannes Debus’ reading of the score was a bit less lively perhaps than Bernard Labadie’s last time around it got the job done.
This is a good revival. There are enough subtle changes to maintain interest for those seeing it for the nth time, the comedy is well managed, there’s plenty of eye candy and, above all, some terrific singing.
