Così fan Tutte Mozart opera concert performance sung in English

Performers Anja Harteros (Fiordiligi), Monica Groop (Dorabella), Isabel Rey (Despina), Lothar Odinius (Ferrando), Ildebrando d'Archangelo (Guglielmo), Rolando Panerai (Don Alfonso), Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, Ben Parry (chorus master), Philharmonia Orchestra, András Schiff (conductor)
Venue Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Address Nicholson Street Edinburgh
Reviewer Kenny Morrison

András Schiff By kind permission of Edinburgh International Festival

For ten years now, Andras Schiff has graced the concert halls of Edinburgh during the Festival, with his fine interpretations of the great piano repertoire. Why then is he found conducting a Mozart opera in a large theatre? Well, it's difficult to say. It wasn't the best Cosí I've heard. I know the music extremely well, and so I am aware of problems in interpretation. I had difficulty with quite a lot of this one.

I found Schiff's tempi, not wrong, nor too fast or slow, but rather inconsistent. He was helped by a very fine orchestral sound from the Philharmonia. The winds in particular seemed on top form tonight, and they are so important for this and for most Mozart. I would also question the inclusion of every piece of recitative. It's obviously necessary for the continuation of the action, but I'm not sure that it is necessary in concert performance.

The singing was a bit of a mixed bag. Fiordiligia and Dorabella's first duet was a little strained, but they fell into the roles quickly and very nicely. Ferrando and Guglielmo, too, took a little while to settle down, and I think their voices were unmatched in ensemble, but we certainly felt the spirit of comedy so prevalent in this piece. Rolando Panerai has had such an excellent (and long) career that one could forgive him his slightly aged voice. He certainly still had the power that he has always had (a very fine performance on Karajan's first Falstaff in the 50's!) and, though less subtle, his sound was still commanding, as the overseer of the unfolding farce. Isabel Rey's Despina was, I think, the performance of the night. She was completely over-the-top, as she has to be, but maintainted a lovely sweetness in her voice.

I liked the half-and-half between concert and staged performance that we got tonight, with the cast having a few props on stage just to help the action along a bit. Purists might argue, but why not simplify and lighten a concert performance, especially of fine farcical opera, putting the audience at ease? In the end, I believe that this was a bit of a misadventure, that Schiff is not quite ready as a conductor, especially at a large event like the Edinburgh festival and that he should perhaps have begun at a lower profile event. However, it's difficult not to enjoy the music in Cosí fan Tutte.

© Kenny Morrison. August 2001

Further performance: 15 August 2001