Product Description
-------------------
Mozart's genius in setting to music Da Ponte's comic play of
love, infidelity and forgiveness marks Così fan tutte as one of
the great works of art from the Age of Enlightenment. Nicholas
Hytner's beautiful production for the Glyndebourne Festival in
2006, with its sure touch and theatrical know-how, lives up to
its promise to be 'shockingly traditional', while Iván Fischer
teases artful performances from an outstanding international cast
of convincing young lovers.
Press Reviews
"When I saw this production at Glyndebourne, I thought that it
was one of the three perfect operatic performances that I have
ever been to. That view is only strengthened by seeing this
marvellous DVD, which does the fullest justice to the brilliance
of Nicholas Hytner's production, and the glorious orchestral
playing and the magnificent singing under Iván Fischer." (BBC
Music Magazine)
"Hytner on Opus Arte succeeded on every front, bringing out the
fine qualities of the whole cast...The teamwork as ever at
Glyndebourne is superb." (The Penguin Guide)
"Since 1934 when Glyndebourne revived this then-neglected work
and began its run of success it has presented a succession of
exemplary stagings all within the parameters of da Ponte's
libretto. When this, the latest, was produced it was universally
hailed: as faithful a representation of the equivocal comedy as
one could wish. That's confirmed by this DVD." (Gramophone)
"Dressed in shades of sand and stone by Vicki Mortimer, and
bathed in summer light by Paule Constable, Hytner's period
production marries elegance, farce and psychological acuity. "
(The Independent)
Cast
Topi Lehtipuu (Ferrando)
Luca Pisaroni (Guglielmo)
Nicolas Rivenq (Don Alfonso)
Miah Persson (Fiordiligi)
Anke Vondung (Dorabella)
Ainhoa Garmendia (Despina)
Glyndebourne Chorus; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Ivan
Fischer
Production
Company: Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Stage Director: Nicholas Hytner
Disc Information
Catalogue Number: OA0970D
Date of Performance: 2006
Running Time: 210 minutes
Sound: DTS Surround; LPCM Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT
Label: Opus Arte
Review
------
Simply put, this widely praised Glyndebourne production
is the Così we've been waiting for. Yes, there are plenty of
alternatives. But little of the video competition has fared well
on these pages. Sometimes the problems stem from the musical
performance: the Pritchard-led Glyndebourne predecessor was
dismissed as "largely routine" by David Kirk (29:5); the Östman
was ruled out of court by Barry Brenesal, who said that the
"conducting belonged to the then-new movement that found only
three tempos in Mozart operas: fast, faster, fast forward"
(30:4). Others were panned because of inadequate production
values: Chereau's "takes itself far too seriously," according to
Brian Robins (30:3); Bob Rose was less charitable still with
Hermanns' "simply rotten" production that, he said, "reveals the
producers' lack of understanding Mozart's genius" (30:6). Only
Muti's Vienna production (Brenesal 32:3) and Harnoncourt's from
Zurich (Christopher Williams, 30:1) received passing grades.
So what makes this performance stand out? First, the singing of
the young cast is uniformly excellent. Or perhaps not quite
uniformly: as is the case with her new Susanna in Pappano's
Figaro, Miah Persson is even better than excellent, combining a
gorgeous, flexible, and stunningly controlled voice (even in the
most challenging coloratura passages) with her by-now familiar
depth of dramatic in. Just listen to (and watch) the solid
scorn on "Come scoglio"--or, even better, the subtle variations
in mood in her wrenching account of "Per pietà"--and you'll
understand why she's my favorite Mozart soprano these days.
But the rest of the cast is nearly as good. Anke Vondung holds
her own as Dorabella (certainly, a less rich part), and their
voices blend extremely well. Topi Lehtipuu and Luca Pisaroni
capture the emotional wobbles of the two self-deluded
lovers--their ardor, their ungrounded confidence, their
fury--with unerring security and luxurious tone. More than most
performances, too, this one reveals a key social dynamic: the
deception works in part because they're so much sexier when their
costumes allow them to abandon the constraining propriety imposed
by the social conventions that normally govern their behavior.
Ainhoa Garmendia is a pert, disdainful Despina who doesn't
over-camp the impersonations; and running the show tactfully is
Nicholas Rivenq. An unusually attractive Don Alfonso, he's
younger and far more fit than most in this role (he looks as if
he just came off the racquet-ball court), and he seems an
intellectual without a trace of pedantry; you can really believe
that he wants to educate these two naive friends. Iván Fischer
conducts with more romantic flexibility than you often get with
period-instrument orchestras--and balance (both among the singers
and between stage and pit) is finely calibrated. Purely as an
audio version, this would stand up to any I've heard.
Fortunately, Nicholas Hytner's production is equally
impressive--hardly a false step from beginning to end. In
general, this staging takes the opera--arguably, Mozart's most
intellectually challenging--seriously. But the seriousness does
not bring solemnity. Hytner may avoid extreme farce, but there's
plenty of wit, energy, and color throughout. More important, he
doesn't condescend to the characters: you can understand both why
they're so foolish and why they're so torn, and the final s
(where the resolution is clearly only partial) create tremendous
poignance. The sets and costumes--simple but far from
austere--suggest the late 18th or early 19th century, without
creating a very specific moment; and while the production doesn't
ostentatiously update the action, it stresses those aspects of
character and situation that still ring true today. One point
highlighted here is the bond between the sisters--indeed, one
could argue that it's really Dorabella who seduces Fiordiligi;
and while there is nothing louche or tasteless in the
presentation of their relationship, it's obvious that they have a
strong erotic link. Not that there's any lack of heterosexual
electricity--as a result, the final scene, where nearly every
possible pairing seems highly charged, is as smoldering as any
you'll see. Yet aside from one or two moments, the sex is handled
with tact: the performance is hardly prudish, but it's never
aggressive either.
The Blu-ray video quality is stunning: you can see each leaf on
the salads that our heroines are eating in act I. The 5.0 channel
PCM is excellent as well. And while the extras are nothing
special, both the conductor and the director offer intelligent
ins into the opera. Two numbers are omitted, No. 7 (the duet
"Al o dan legge") and No. 24 (Ferrando's "Ah, io veggio"), but
that's a minor issue. All in all, if this doesn't make it to my
next Want List, we've got quite a year in store for us. --
Fanfare, Peter J. Rabinowitz, Jan-Feb 2010
