On February 2, 1997, I saw the Skylight Opera Theatre's production of Cosi Fan Tutte at the Cabot Theatre. Mozart's original version took place in the eighteenth century and cast the young men as Italian soldiers, but the Skylight chose to set this comic opera in more recent times. Paula Suozzi, the associate director, felt that the young lovers, "need to be in a setting where anything can happen." Another change that the Skylight did was to perform the opera in English.

I used several sources in writing this report. An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (January 19, 1997) provided information about the Skylight's changes from Mozart's original setting. Insight into opera's structure and form was gained from the supplement The Effect of Good Music (January 31, 1997) handed out in class. The program provided information about the actors, the plot, and the music.

Set in Naples during the 1950's, the story presents Ferrando and Guglielmo, two American sailors in love with two Italian sisters, respectively Dorabella and Fiordiligi. While the pairs are staying at a hotel, the sailors' bachelor friend Don Alfonso tells them that all women are fickle, and he bets them that he can prove the girls' infidelity in one day. Agreeing to the bet, the men go to the girls and claim that they have been called away to war. They then disguise themselves as "foreigners," and with the help of Despina, the hotel maid, go about trying to seduce the sisters. At first the girls turn away these new strangers, but eventually agree to flirt with them. However, each sister ends up choosing the other's partner. Dorabella steadily falls in love with Guglielmo, while Fiordiligi tries to remain faithful to her lover but she eventually gives in to Ferrando. The two men are furious at girls' disloyalty, and plot with Don Alfonso to seek revenge. They stage a wedding, and just as everyone finishes signing the marriage contracts, the sailors suddenly return. They confront the sisters, but the girls quickly pick up what the men have done. Don Alfonso assures all of them that what happened was for the best, and that everyone came out of the experience better off.

Opera is meant to showcase its stars, and this production certainly did that. All of the actors had previous opera experience and easily slipped into their roles.

Dorabella was played by Julia Bentley. I heard some in the audience say she looked like Marilyn Monroe, although I would point out that she was not as sexy. She had blond hair and wore fashionable horn-rimmed sunglasses. Her dresses were of light colors (pale yellow, white, flowers), and she had a pink bathing suit. More lightheaded than Fiordiligi, she was quite willing to flirt with the disguised brothers. Bentley made Dorabella very overdramatic, and this always created a laugh.

Lise Lindstrom was familiar with the role of Fiordiligi because she had that same role in the San Francisco Conservatory's 1995 production of Cosi Fan Tutte. She had black hair and was more conservative in her dress and behavior than Dorabella. Her back was like a rod, for she, more than any other character, would stand, look, and sing straight to the audience. Lindstrom is a soprano, and she clearly displayed her range by going very high several times.

With his handsome appearance and trim blond hair, Benjamin Brecher gave Ferrando a clean cut look. More serious than his comical companion, Ferrando's personality seemed more in line with Fiordiligi, who he eventually ended up with. His voice was light and controlled, although he had to catch his breath once. His sailor friend, the funny Guglielmo, was played by John Muriello. His comic behavior and expressions guaranteed that whenever he was around there would be laughter. His strong voice almost seemed mismatched for his character, but that may have been one of the reasons he was so funny. Another reason his humor stood out was that Ferrando had a more serious attitude and that made them a pair of opposites.

Initially, the two men wore traditional American sailor outfits. But their attire when they were "foreigners" looked like it came out of a Chiquita Banana commercial. They had plastic fruits, gold chains, and colorful trinkets hanging on them, and they wore flower pattern sheets as togas. Their hats were white turbans in which were more fruits, and they had fake mustaches and goatees. The men were funny in these costumes, but they did not seem appropriate to me. Mozart's original version called for the brothers to be dressed as exotic visitors, but their disguises were anything but exotic. They were comical, and being that this was a comic opera could be a justification for using them. I think what Mozart (as interpreted by the Skylight production) was trying to point out was that females are attracted to men, regardless of who they are or how they dress.

The key to Cosi Fan Tutte is the fatherly friend of the two sailors, Don Alfonso. Knowledgeable in matters of the heart, he was not out merely to have fun and make money at the expense of the young lovers. Rather, he desired to bring the proper partners together. Played by Tony Dillon, Don Alfonso looked about 55 years old, with his thinning white hair closely cropped and a white and black mustache. He wore a white suit, and projected that feeling that you could trust him, that he would take care of everything. Dillon is somewhere between a tenor and a baritone, and he sang with gusto and power.

The wise, funny, and ever resourceful Despina was played by an equally talented Lyndy Simons. She had a lower voice than the other women, but she used it well to express herself. She was also laid back and relaxed, and that made the other characters more open to her suggestions. Twice in the show she comically disguised herself as a man (once as a doctor and the other time as a lawyer). Dressed as a doctor to remove the poison from the foreigners, she made a funny scene become hilarious.

The actors did a lot of eating and drinking during the opera, much more than I have ever seen or would expect. This is significant because the consumption of food not only affects a person's voice, but if everything were not swallowed soon enough, it could throw off the singing and timing. The fact that the actors, especially the women who ate the most, were able to manage is a testament to their skill.

The wonderful music was signature Mozart. Never too imposing, the music always seemed to be just right for what was happening on stage. Listening to some of his other works afterwards, I found that Cosi Fan Tutte sounded like and had many of the same musical structures as The Marriage of Figaro. This is no surprise considering that Mozart and da Ponte collaborated on that opera too.

There was one instrument which plucked away at my mind during the opera, but I could not seem to put my finger on it. I later realized that it was the harpsichord that had got my attention. This instrument more than any others stood out, and its twangy tone provided a unique contrast to the strings.

Most modern musicals have one or two tunes that the audience grabs hold of and are heard being hummed as people leave the theater. Cosi Fan Tutte had no song, movement, or piece which stood out and caught my attention. It was more like a flowing stream of notes perfectly arranged so to make the opera a single piece. There was nothing I came away humming, but instead I had an overall feeling of Mozart's music.

I found that I was often struggling to understand what the actors were saying, primarily because there were multiple people singing different things all at once. This is characteristic of Mozart's operas, for although they may be hard to understand, real people think and talk simultaneously. This idea is best explained in a scene from Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus.

That's why opera is important, Baron. Because it's realer than any play. A dramatic poet would have to put all those thoughts down one after another to represent this second of time. The composer can put them all down at once - and still make us hear each one of them. Astonishing device: a vocal quartet! I tell you I want to write a finale lasting half an hour! A Quartet becoming a Quintet becoming a Sextet. On and on, wider and wider - all sounds multiplying and rising together - and the together making a sound entirely new! I bet you that's how God hears the world. Millions of sounds ascending at once and mixing in his ear to become an unending music, unimaginable to us! That's our job! That's our job, we composers: to combine the inner minds of him and him and him, and her and her - the thoughts of chambermaids and Court Composers - and turn the audience into God.

This quote gave me insight into Mozart's works, but what is more important, it gave me insight into Mozart the man. Another characteristic of Mozart is the repetition of phrases which occurred throughout Cosi Fan Tutte.

Just as one appreciates the human genius behind the music and the talent behind the voices, so too you have to appreciate the genius and talent in the set design. Robert Perdziola's sets were magnificent and added a romantic Italian flavor that enhanced the show. The Hotel Lucenario was elaborately detailed to look like a seaside villa. The stage incorporated the hotel's main desk, a staircase leading to the bedrooms, an open terrace whose roof was supported by pillars, a lounge area, and a view of the seashore. Awnings hung from the ceiling, and the walls and pillars looked like stucco. There were even tree branches on one side to give the feeling that part of the stage was outdoors. Plants, ferns, and shrubbery were scattered all over, and vines covered the stone wall of the terrace. White metal lounge chairs and matching table carts were of the period, and a set of stuffed chairs sat on the terrace.

The set for Act Two was not as impressive as the villa, but it had its own special touches. A small porch, with wrought iron railings and more vines, quietly rose to reveal a view of the shoreline at night. Its shimmering outline was lit so that the buildings appeared to burn warm yellow lights. A platform functioned as a raft for the young men and later as a patio upon which the lovers were married. Wooden mooring posts stuck out of the ground, reenforcing the image of a harbor city. The transition from the porch to the barge and shimmering shore was skillfully done. As you watch, you sense that something is moving forward, but what? The distance between the barge and the background is the same, so what is happening? This effect is created by moving the barge and the background forward at the same rate, giving the illusion of motion.

While the appearance of the sets was certainly breathtaking, ingenuity was also seen in the layouts. For all the structures the villa had, there were multiple areas where action could occur. When several people were singing about different things, they would frequently be positioned in different places on the stage. The barge setup also allowed for such spatial arrangements, although it was much easier because there was more open space on the stage.

I have never seen a mishap during a show, but at the performance I attended there was a big one. However, the actors handled it so well, that the crowd could not help applauding them. Dorabella was sitting on a beach basket, talking with Despina and Fiordiligi, when the basket suddenly collapsed, sending Bentley flying backwards. She was holding a box of candies at the time, and the candies went flying all over the place. With Simons and Lindstrom's help Bentley got up, but the whole scene was too much for everyone; the crowd along with the actors just began laughing which turned into a long applause. The ladies had trouble with their composure for the next several lines, but who would not? The entire incident was taken in stride by all, and the humor of it complemented the comic theme of the opera.

The Cabot Theatre may be contemporary in construction, but it is classic in design. The circular ceiling is painted like the Sistine Chapel, but the images are of modern buildings and people (definitely not the work of Leonardo). Hanging from the center of the ceiling is a wrought iron chandelier. The audience looks at the stage through a large, simple proscenium arch, while the seating sections include the main floor, a mezzanine, a balcony, and side boxes. This last feature is something which was common in theaters built before the turn of the century, but is absent in more modern theaters. Blue is the predominant color, with the seats, carpeting, and curtains all having similar yet different shades; golds and browns cover other surfaces. There is little of the ornamentation that graces many theaters today, but small shaded lamps with incandescent bulbs add a traditional look.

The show was more than three hours long with an intermission in the middle. Some people mentioned that it was too long, but I thought the length was fine. The tempo changed over the course of the opera; it moved smartly along through Act One, but took a roller coaster ride after the intermission.

The performance played before a sold out house, with the majority of people being over fifty. Some were from the sophisticated theater crowd while others were of the elderly crowd who like opera, but many of them were clearly subscribers. From what I sensed, most of the people were comfortable with and understood the opera format. Although it was my first opera, I quickly became comfortable with the structure and look forward to seeing more operas in the future.

Mordechai Cohen
HS 495U Musical Theater
Professor Dyskow
15 February 1997

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