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Mozart, Così Fan Tutte: Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus Sinfónica de Galicia,  Conductor: Donato Renzetti Festival Mozart de La Corunna at Teatro Colón. 22.5.2008 (JMI)

Production from Naple’s Teatro San Carlo.

Direction: Mario Martone (original) Raffaele di Florio (revival).
Sets: Sergio Tramonti.
Costumes: Vera Marzot.
Lighting: Pasquale Mari.

Cast:

Fiordiligi: Eteri Gvazava
Dorabella: Laura Polverelli
Despina. Silvia Colombini
Ferrando: Francisco Gatell
Guglielmo: Simone Alberghini
Don Alfonso: Andrea Concetti

The Corunna Mozart Festival programmed this performance as a tribute to Giorgio Strehler  (August 1 1921 -  December 25 1997) one of the most influential directors of Italian opera and theatre,  offering two productions of his in addition to lectures on his work. This time the Festival features   Mozart particularly, performing three of his operas: Così Fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Le Nozze di Figaro.

This Così Fan Tutte inaugurated the Festival with a more than acceptable production, based on a simple and very well directed staging, outstanding music and a balanced vocal team.

Teatro Colón does not have much room for either scenery or  nor large musical forced, with very small stage and pit. In these conditions the choice of Mario Martone's  production, from Naples' Teatro San Carlo  where it was premiered some 11 years ago, made good sense. The production is of extreme simplicity,  uses a bare stage, apart from two beds that occupy the center for the whole  opera. What  should be underlined however is the excellent stage direction. The production makes use of the whole theatre, including  stage, pit, stalls and boxes, to expand what happens on stage and in summary, it compares favourably  with  Sagi’s well loved  Il Viaggio to Reims, proving that  big money isn't always necessary for attractive opera.

Musical Direction was entrusted to Donato Renzetti, who offered a complete version of the work, as should happen at a Mozart Festival. This included the difficult aria for Ferrando, which must have been totally unknown to most the audience, and the inclusion of all the recitatives, particularly the one between Despina and Don Alfonso, in which she decides to take charge of the action.  Renzetti's conducting was very fluid and careful, done with exquisite taste concern for the singers. His performance is in fact  one of the best that I can remember from him and musically this was one of the finest Cosìs that I can recall anywhere.  There was excellent  playing  from the orchestra, with an outstanding continuo from Richard Barker at the harpsichord and David Ethève on the cello.  The chorus however, show that concert singing is a different game from opera and they had some problems with coordination,  due to their unfamiliar presence on a stage.

Russian soprano Eteri Gvazava was a good Fiordiligi, replacing Irina Lungu who was initially announced but who cancelled to sing Violetta at La Scala. Someday I will write  more about the rash of  sudden cancellations by  singers, often with shameless complicity from the bigger opera houses,  which is so blatant sometimes that it amounts to buying stolen merchandise. Eteri Gvazava was the last Fiordiligi in Giorgio Strehler production; he died during its rehearsals. She is a lyric soprano of attractive appearance, with an interesting middle register, almost enough low notes and a slightly tight higher range As everyone knows, the number of great Fiordiligis can be counted with the fingers of one hand these days, so this was a particularly lucky substitution. Ms Gvazava  also interpreted the role with great delicacy.

Her sister Dorabella was sung by Laura Polverelli, probably the present day singer most familiar with  the character. She dominates the role completely. Her voice is not particularly extraordinary (it never it has been), and the theater's size helped her quite a lot, I suspect. Silvia Colombini was a lively Despina, outstanding as an actress although no more than a soubrette  and without very much interest in purely vocal terms.

The Argentinean tenor Francisco Gatell made an interesting Ferrando, who seems to make steady progress as he develops. The voice is very well suited to the character, showing only slight insecurities in the top register and  he was very good indeed in his three arias, particularly in the almost always  cut “Ah, lo veggio quell' anima bella”.

Simone Alberghini was a convincing Guglielmo on stage although with an unappealing timbre unfortunately while the Don Alfonso was Andrea Concetti.  He sang with much enthusiasm but has lost brightness in his high notes. Personally, I also prefer  more mature Don Alfonso, which seems to me to be more in keeping with Da Ponte's libretto.

Corunna's Teatro Colon was fully booked,  the audience was slightly luke warm during the first act, livening up considerably for  the second half. There was a warm final reception for all the artists however and wholehearted cheers  for Renzetti and the orchestra.

José M Irurzun


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