Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte

Cosi Fan Tutte is one of Mozart's best, with some of his most sublime music of any of his operas and ever and a story that has a healthy balance of comedy and drama. While one of the weaker productions of Cosi, this production has its flaws but is quite easily the best of the Netherlands Opera Mozart productions.

Updated to a youth hostel, as trashy as this sounds on the most part it's neatly handled with plenty of entertaining moments and an equal amount of emotional impact. Of course because Mozart's style is very traditional and of its time, there are parts that don't translate well as they could do updated , which is not unusual for concept/updated productions, as it is difficult to tell the story outside what Mozart intended. This is true especially of the inclusion of a dance party which did not fit the music at all, there is also almost non-existent stage acting during Come Scoglio between the present principals(either give them something to do or just have Fiordiligi onstage) and there are a few parts that do get a bit too smutty. Otherwise, the comedy is hilarious, the drama is poignant and above all you can actually understand what's going on in the story without superfluous stage business going on.

Visually, the production is not particularly imaginative but it is not unattractive either. The sets do fill a good space and while plain and a touch sparsely furnished you can certainly do with far worse. The lighting is nice and sunny without being garish. Was less enamoured with most of the costumes, had no problem with Alfonso and Ferrando but it was strange to see Guglielmo dressed like a tourist at one point and Fiordiligi and Dorabella's frumpy clothing didn't flatter Sally Matthews and Maite Beaumont at all. The production fares mostly wonderfully musically, with lively and sumptuous-in-sound orchestral playing and efficient, supple conducting from Ingo Metzmacher. The singing and acting are mostly very good indeed, though Norman Shankle while possessing a lovely lyrical voice is a little dull and stand-and-sing as an actor. The standouts were Sally Matthews and Maite Beaumont, Matthews' voice is more mature than most Fiodiligis but it is flexible and used with great artistry and emotion(especially in Come Scoglio), she is a very charming actress too. Beaumont sings wonderfully as well and has nice deadpan comic timing.

Danielle De Niese is a wickedly funny Despina, with a bright beautiful sound that she still has just less than a decade on. Luca Pisaroni also has a flexible voice with an appealing tone and good phrasing, and his Guglielmo is amusing and charming. Gary Magee's Alfonso is appropriately cynical and like a puppeteer of the action, without being too jovial or too sinister, and he has a sonorous quality to his voice. To conclude, could have been better and one of the weaker Cosi DVD productions but is solid and better than expected. 7/10 Bethany Cox

As I get older the world seems to get uglier and opera, which seemed so unengaging when I was young, seems now more attractive and essential than ever. Cosi is one of the loveliest Mozart operas, fascinating for all the well rehearsed reasons, but so often disappointing for so many reasons - singing below par (and WAM did set the bar rather high here, particularly for Fiordiligi), stagey sets with too much lace and nylon, and wooden acting.

The problem here is the modern theme of a beachside location, but the Dutch do seem to go in for this kind of thing. It has its own logic, though, and if one can ignore it and concentrate instead on the music and singing, the story and the actors, it can take one to heaven. There's very little to criticise beyond the staging ideas (well, one can always carp) but it's a very nice thing, and Sally Matthews is superb in her role. Miah Persson is another modern vocal wonder who did this opera proud; we are lucky to have such an interest in 18th century opera, the talent to perform it, and the means to make thrilling recordings.