COSI has always been something of a problem for me. Great music, no question of that, but a little too silly in some productions and a little too long (though it's hard to say what could be cut). As I have gotten older, the darker side of the story has appealed to me strongly. It does seem a little unfair to say: women are like that. I think: people are like that. The male heart is just as fickle as the female. I speak from experience.
This was only my fourth COSI in the theatre; my first was in English at the Old Met with a spectacular cast: Leontyne Price, Roz Elias, Roberta Peters, Tucker, Uppman and Donald Gramm. That was a rather slap-stick production, sumptuously sung but played for laughs. That may have been why I was put off the piece for a long time. The new Met offered Kiri with Kathleen Battle as Despina and Maria Ewing in one of her best roles as a sexy, screwball Dorabella. But it was not until last year's excellent Met performance with Frittoli, Kozena, Focile, Polenzani, Kwiecien and Sir Thomas Allen that the opera finally bit me. Now I'm anxious to see it often, and it was the first NYCO presentation this season that I bought a ticket for.
The stage is dominated - indeed, filled - by a giant camera obscura in which Don Alfonso conducts his experiments in human nature. The camera opens to reveal a simple black room with white furniture in which the action takes place. The costumes are traditional: the ladies start out in all-white slowly adding colours (and loosening their bodices) as the story progresses. The "Albanians" are colorful but not corny. Don Alfonso is a reserved, slightly sinister figure while Despina is a stock soubrette.
Julius Rudel, who was such a dominant force during NYCO's golden age (the Sills-Treigle era of the 1960s to 70s), was back in the City Opera pit for the first time in years (can it be that it was 1981 when he last lifted a baton there?) He is a masterful old-school conductor: he doesn't make a statement about the work, he lets Mozart do that. His precision and warmth, his perfect tempi, and his ideal support of the singers gave enormous pleasure all evening. Like all the greatest opera conductors, he knows "prima la voce"...the balance between pit and stage is never out of whack. During Rudel's tenure, there was never any complaint about the "acoustics" at NYCO. He made sure that such delicate instruments as Patricia Brooks & Patricia Wise were finely supported rather than trampled upon. The calls for an acoustic overhaul on the State Theatre began when inexperienced conductors failed the prime directive: LISTEN to the singers. Rudel was very warmly applauded, notably by the musicians and singers.
Maureen McKay was unexceptional as Despina, and Ryan MacPherson did not have the liquid timbre and delicacy of expression that can make Ferrando's music so appealing. He seemed a bit tired near the end, but it's a cruel role in terms of both tessitura and stamina. I was a little disappointed in Sandra Piques Eddy, a very attractive woman who I have admired in the past. Her vibrato seemed more pronounced than usual and she strayed from the pitch with some frequency. In compensation, she harmonized beautifully and her portrayal was ideal. Kyle Pfortmiller is a good-looking guy with a nice, darkish tinge to his strong, lyric sound. Something of a revelation came from Julianna di Giacomo, replacing the much-anticipated Pamela Armstrong as Fiordiligi. di Giacomco, unheralded, sang with a velvety spinto timbre and secure agility. The voice is even and warm, and laced with a pretty streak of girlish vulnerability. She is a large woman and I sincerely hope she will not be urged to do any drastic weight reduction. That is always detrimental to the vocal support system; besides, she looks just lovely as she is.
In the 1990s I had the great pleasure of seeing one of the best Don Giovannis ever in the person of James Maddalena. Battling a horrendously bad production (at Glimmerglass), Maddalena managed to create, both vocally & personally, a memorable Don Juan. It was great seeing him again last night as Don Alfonso; his portrayal was the crowning touch of the evening. Of special note was his beautiful phrasing and vocal colours in the famous trio where we usually are entranced by the female voices and forget about the poor man. Maddalena evened the equation, balancing the piece and subtly insinuating himself into the tearful farewell.
The end of COSI always creates a dilemma: the philosophical words and the "happy-ending" music speak of reconciliation and forgiveness. But what are the four lovers actually feeling? In this production, the enduring mutual attraction of Guglielmo and Dorabella lets the curtain fall on a question mark.
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